Women and Hip-Hop
Masculinity
The
collection of readings by Clay, McMillan, and Miller-Young contain several
moments of provocative theory and important questions. In different ways, each
text addresses the following theme: in what ways does hip-hop (and hip-hop
masculinity) affect the roles and perceived agency of women (either as a
performer or a spectator) in their actions, gender presentation, and their
perception by others. I have pinpointed moments that stood out to me in each
reading and proposed many questions that could be up for discussion.
Hip-Hop Pornography
In
“Hip-Hop Honeys and Da Hustlaz: Black Sexualities in the New Hip-Hop
Pornography,” Mireille Miller-Young looks at the historical links between
hip-hop and pornography, after direct links by production companies like
VideoTeam and hip-hop artists branded pornography to align with a hip-hop
aesthetic.
I
think that perhaps we could focus for a moment on the Can the Ho’ Speak? section. This
section discusses the complex role of the black female performer and sex
worker. Miller-Young highlights a need for what’s lacking amidst the industries
of hip-hop and pornography, and broader, American society that is haunted by
the history of slavery and racism and the reactionary politics of
respectability that followed:
“What
is also expressed is a pressing need for a liberatory space where the imaginary
for black female sexuality transcends the dominant sexual economy in which
black women continue to ‘give birth to white wealth’” (Miller-Young, 284)
What might a
space like this look like?
Pornography
and the hip-hop pornography aesthetic seems to be inherently visual focused.
How does sound function here? Could it be more than just the lyrics of the
songs or performances in hip-hop? What role does the silence of the “video girl” do in terms of sound?
In
the concluding section, Clay asks “Can pleasure, particularly sexual pleasure,
become an anti-racist and anti-sexist platform in the way that pain and
struggle has become for black communities(286) Where is there room for this in
music, and where does the sonic come into play?
Something
that comes to mind is Nicki Minaj’s verse in “Only.” In a song where she is,
frustratingly an object of sexual desire by men, her verse does some work to
subvert her role as the object: “I never f*** Wayne, I never f***** Drake….if I
did I’d ménage with them, make them eat my a** like a cupcake.” In this song we
even get a moment where pornography is directly brought into this hip-hop space
(and thus the mainstream airwaves) when Drake says “That’s right, I like my
girls BBW.”
Is
Nick Minaj’s role in this working as a sonic, anti-sexist platform? Are these
moments of subversion outdone by other moments of normativity of hip-hop
aesthetics? Is there room for pleasure, particularly from the vantage point of
a straight-identified female hip-hop artist amidst this objectification? I
imagine there are better examples of songs and performances that pose answers
to these questions and I am interested in any examples someone may have.
Queer Women and Hip-Hop
Masculinity
In
“I used to be scared of the Dick” Queer women of color and hip-hop masculinity,
Andreana Clay complicates this scene by hypothesizing about what it could mean
that these hip-hop masculinities are the aural backdrop in social spaces of black
queer women.
Clay
explores the relationship between hip-hop and black masculinity among queer
women of color on the dance floor. While
the scripts and lifestyles enacted in hip-hop music and video “makes sense for
a generation of disenfranchised Black men”(Clay, 153) these restricted boxes,
specifically the “nigga” and the “playa,” for what black masculinity is don’t
just affect women.
Clay suggests that “there is a clear link
between a black queer or lesbian identity and the nigga identity” in a shared
disinterest “in anything having to do with the mainstream, though his cultural
products are clearly and integral part of the mainstream popular culture”(159).
However, queer women of color “construct new meaning” in the performance amidst
the sonic dominance of hip-hop and
popular music in the club-space by
challenging the context of masculinity and sexuality (158).
After
reading this I was left wondering the portability of these notions. Do women (as
active spectators rather than musical performers) need to be queer in order to
change the context of sexuality and masculinity? Could straight-identified
black women’s voices singing these songs amongst themselves, or in the company
of straight men construct a new meaning?
Nicki-Aesthetics
Finally,
I want us to be able to talk about Nicki Minaj. In “Nicki-aesthetics: the camp
performance of Nicki Minaj,” Uri McMillan describes what he coins as Nicki-aesthetics. McMillan says that
hip-hop and “camp” align in Nicki-aesthetics in that it is “a camp sensibility
that is both black and female. Nicki-aesthetics are different from the idea of feminist camp because it allows a
non-white (and in this case Black) woman to perform this “parodic play between
subject and object in which [she] laughs at and plays with her own image.”
What
are your thoughts on these Nicki-aesthetics
in the Elle.com video that McMillan points us to? How is the sonic working
in this video to convey these aesthetics?
McMillan
says that Nicki-aesthetics “is a camp sensibility that is both black and
female” Hip hop and camp align in nick-aesthetics. Further, it pushes past the
notion of “feminist camp, “a parodic play between subject and object in which
the female spectator laughs at and plays with her own image” by permitting a
female performance that isn’t white(McMillan, 82).
Since
the idea of sonic authenticity often comes up in class, I thought it would be
important to note how McMillan challenges the notion of Nicki Minaj being
considered “fake” in that her aesthetics in fact paradox authentic because she
“rebukes hip-hop’s standard trifecta—masculinity, realness, and normative
blackness”(85) paradoxes idea of authenticity. What do we make of Nicki and
being or sounding “real?” I’m also interested in discussing the portability of
Nicki-aesthetics, if anyone has thoughts about that.
First when thinking about performances of our identities, I feel as though Clay only scratches the surface when thinking about the way that black gender roles are not in line with our understandings of hegemonic masculinity or emphasized femininity. I find it difficult to say that women in hip hop need to be queer in order to change contexts of sexuality and meaning of masculinity. Straight identified black women often are considered manly due to their performance of being a strong black woman. To move towards assuming a queer identity for black women in hip hop constrains what it means to be a woman. I think this also appears with Nicki Minaj, she pushes the boundaries of womanhood. I think the Elle video is interesting because the sounds are nowhere near what I would think of as black music, which makes me wonder, what is white music? I don't think Nicki is ever inauthentic, like the quote from Gilroy is used to point that she is, but Nicki aesthetics are more about the ability to push the envelope of what is expected for anyone but especially a black woman. All of her superficial identities become part of the landscape of possibilities of a black woman. An example of her fluidity is seen in her verse on the song Monster (and this is my favorite Nicki verse).
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/QrUiwmZONb0
Candice CR
Hey Steffan,
ReplyDeleteSo you raise a lot of interesting points with regards to hip -hop in juxtaposition to normative masculine dominance. While you largely question the sonic I am still quite fixated on the performative possibilities that Clay, Miller-Young, and McMillan draw on with women’s involvement with hip-hop culture.
In each of these three articles we see how performance creates a space for negotiations of authenticity. Each article adheres to the idea that authenticity is directly linked to hetero-masculine ideologies. But what really stuck out to me is this idea of “the outcast.” Throughout this class the outcast or this inherent sense of otherness has followed in tandem with the various genres of music we’ve covered. I wonder if this “otherness” as seen through lyricism and performance ultimately defines black sonic production. In Miller-Young’s piece she sees women as “the black whore” who exist within this sub-group that defies idealized black community. The same subgroup in which hip-hop artists have been attributed. Again, in McMillan’s article Nicki Minaj portrays a female artist whose persona counteracts masculine sonic dominance as seen within the hip-hop franchise. Perhaps, then Nicki-aesthetics is a transparent performance to show that authenticity of black representation is fluid. In other words, I’ve taken away from this that the sonic allows for mobility of performance. Again let’s look at Clay’s discussion of queerness in relation to hip-hop. Clays says that “queer women of color construct new meanings of the text and become active consumers who change the context of sexuality and masculinity.” (158) I would like to argue that it isn’t just a queer translation solely by women. In her observations we see how women of color negotiate a space of black sonic authenticity in which to operate. Through McMillan we see how one female rap artist embraces her sexuality parallel to that of her male counterparts. In hip-hop videos we see women who silently exude sexual freedoms which take them from object to subject and I wonder what happens when these video vixens are given vocal cameos in rap songs? How does the sonic experience change the performance?
Post class Response:
ReplyDeleteSo I'm still thinking about Francisco's phrase "intellectual fluidity" with regards to women in hip hop. He said that there needs to be crossing of interdisciplinary boundaries where authenticity/credibility is acknowledged. If we consider our discussion of queer performance I wonder how women fit within the framework of hip hop which is a male dominated and misogynist environment. Look at Nicky Minaj or even-dare I say- Iggy Azalea who infuse pop within their music. Could this fusion be an attempt to work across various genres to find this so-called fluidity? Could this be an attempt to reframe objectivity into subject?
ReplyDeleteMixUnit is committed to being the #1 source for hip-hop music, DVDs and clothing (along with tons of other stuff) on the planet. We want to make sure that you are 100% satisfied with your shopping experience.
ReplyDeletedear,
friends
Music is a form of art that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. It is normally expressed in terms of pitch (which includes melody and harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo and meter), and the quality of sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, and texture).
see more details: Hip Hop Music