What About the Good Stuff? On Art and Social Change

Guest blog by Ashley

In my work against sexual violence, I am commonly referred to as a “prevention evangelist.” While I embrace the term, I kind of wish people would instead call me a “promotion evangelist.” Doing statewide training and technical assistance on the prevention of sexual violence certainly requires that I be an enthusiastic advocate for all things prevention. But what about promotion? As some fellow prevention evangelists have pointed out, we’re so good at articulating and addressing what we are against, but what about the things we are for?

This is where art and pop culture, particularly music, comes in. I can’t tell you how many times I get requests for songs and media that highlight all the harmful norms and conditions that support sexual violence. And they aren’t hard to find.

Pick out any mainstream hip hop or rap lyrics you’ll find an example within less than a minute. Search YouTube for Lil’ Wayne’s latest video. Finding the bad stuff is easy. But what about the good stuff? In our quest to create a peaceful and just world, we point the spotlight towards the violent and the unjust. And we do it in a limited and predictable way that has serious ramifications – demonizing entire genres of music that not only have deep social and political histories, but that have also been co opted by mainstream, White, male business leaders (check out Byron Hurt’s Beyond Beats and Rhymes).

But what about the good stuff?

As organizations like Arte Sana know, art is a powerful, positive tool for social change. If you love or even just like various forms of art just a little, you know that it reaches people in ways that PowerPoint presentations never will. Art is a living medium through which we can promote the healthy beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors we need for strong, vibrant communities.

Folks who work for peace and justice are missing out if we only focus on the ways in which art can do harm. It’s so much more than that.

Some time ago, I asked fans of the band The Material for stories about the impact of their music on theses individuals’ lives. I received story after story about how the band’s music helped fans make it through parental divorces, unhealthy relationships, and even prevented suicide attempts. And that’s one band. Think about all the music that is out there.

Bands like Vedera have written entire albums about relationships that highlight both the good and the bad and promote love and respect. Artists like Deizel P and Dead Prez use their music for social justice. Organizations like Artists United for Social Justice, Music Saves Lives, and Air Traffic Control engage musicians in social change work. Groups like Revibe provide critical analyses of both the good and the bad within art and culture, with a focus on building strong, vibrant and healthy movements.

Social change is about more than simply eliminating the bad stuff. What kind of society and communities would be left if we just extracted all that is harmful? Instead, we must also look at what we put into society and our communities. How are we modeling and promoting the healthy norms we want people to identify with
and spread?

I don’t need to show you research to convince you that people look to art and pop culture to find out what’s cool. Instead of simply trying to convince folks that the unhealthy stuff they see in art isn’t cool, let’s show them what is.

Ashley Maier is the Prevention Program Coordinator at the Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force and Co-Editor of Connect the Dots. Find out more about her work at www.oregonsatf.org and www.connectthedotsmovement.com.