Vixen Activism: Bridging the Gap Between Black Female Sexuality and Respectability in Hip-Hop

• In Event: Black Women and Hip Hop

Abstract

This panel will explore the links that can be made between Black female activists of the past and hip-hop’s less respectable, but always prevalent ‘video vixen’. This paper will introduce Black Feminist Theory as exemplified through the actions of hip-hop sex icons Amber Rose and Karrine Steffans. Research suggests that these women are silenced not due to their inability to produce meaningful action and dialogue for their causes, but more so because of the lack of respect their position has in a male-dominated, misogynistic sphere such as Hip-Hop. This is dangerous because their lived experiences are idolized and romanticized by hip-hop consumers and the Black community. When the women whose bodies are used to create the image of hip-hop culture are not allowed to use their voices there will continually be a paradox where women who attempt to become a part of the industry are demeaned and de-intellectualized. The implication for further research on several contemporary Black topics such as Black female subjugation, the Black relationship and family, and the effects of media on Black people, and more should no longer avoid the opinions and insights of women that are living out the reality of being hypersexualized in one of the most dominant influencers of Black culture.

BIO: Emily McNair is a senior studying Political Science and African Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She plans to get her Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, and one day receive her PhD and become a professor.

Author

• Emily McNair, UNC Greensboro