Time Magazine February 8 1999 Hip Hop Nation
BY: VANSSA CRESPO, SUMMER 2021 COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE
In the Fall of 2020, I took a class called African American Women’s Political Activism because its long but descriptive name called my attention. It sounded like a niche topic and was offered only this one time by my university. This class didn’t disappoint. Not only did we discuss delicate topics such as mass incarceration, domestic violence, and health disparities, but I was also introduced to several new feminist theories that I wasn’t previously aware of. Although the name of the course includes “women,” it looked at a larger picture to understand the societal oppression of the Afro-American community as a whole rather than exclusively one group. Of course, we explored these stories through the perspectives of women and Black feminist thought.
And as if the course wasn’t interesting enough, we had a lecture on Hip Hop Feminism . . . Say what? I didn’t know this was a thing, but as with many cultural and social movements, we find sub-groups that use their own approach to communicate with a wider audience. A term coined by Joan Morgan, Hip Hop Feminism recognizes the marginalization and objectification of women in the music genre, but it utilizes it as a source to empower and uplift women. The genre is known to talk about the lived experience of Black and Latino youth in the face of economic, social, and racial discrimination. So Hip Hop Feminism takes this basic concept and embraces it with the goal of reaching a younger generation of women. Although the typical Hip Hop as we know it may contain problematic female stereotypes, Hip Hop feminists believe there’s a potential to create a place of self-identification for women both racially and sexually. Doctor Whitney A. People states in her article “Identifying Foundations of Hip-Hop Feminism” that, “hip-hop is a also a site where young Black women begin to build or further develop their own gender critique and feminist identity, which they can then turn toward the misogyny of rap music”. Despite the sexism found in this music genre, Hip Hop feminists’ goal is to expand the genre's scope in order to start the conversation on women’s issues, especially women of color. This sub-group emerged from the backlash of the second-wave feminism failure to address intersectionality and white elitist feminists excluding minorities from the mainstream movement. We can look at Hip Hop Feminism as a byproduct of Third Wave feminism which focused on issues like sexual harassment – spurred by the testimony of Anita Hill – the liberation of women of color, the eradication of homophobia, and dismantling white feminist elitism and Black sexism. Some examples of artists in this niche group are Lauryn Hill (my personal favorite), Salt-N-Pepa, and contemporary artist and activist Toni Blackman.
Lauryn Hill’s album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' might be the most recognized work of Hip Hop feminism. Hill touched on topics like motherhood in “To Zion”, about heartbreak in “The Ex-Factor”, sexuality in “Do Woop”, poverty in “The Final Hour”, faith in “I Used to Love Him”, and many other topics explored in Hip Hop Feminism. This album is worth listening to because it is a successful attempt to transform the current climate that surrounded the music genre while also empowering women and women of color. Salt-N-Peppa explored similar topics like sexual freedom in their popular song “Let’s Talk About Sex”, but also gun violence and discrimination. Lastly, Toni Blackman uses hip hop to advocate it as an alternative way of dealing with emotions and personal conflict, and as an educator, Blackman often discusses the intersection of hip hop and mental health. She is also the first hip hop artist selected to serve as a Cultural Ambassador with the U.S. Department of State.
I think that if it wasn’t for this class, I would’ve never discovered the connection between hip hop and feminism. Am I surprised? Well, if I really think about it, activism manifests in multiple ways, through common political discourse, public manifestations, or the arts. But I guess I never thought about the deeper connection of intersectionality and feminism within hip hop. I applaud these artists for taking a music genre like hip hop which oftentimes objectifies women but successfully managed to turn it into space where younger women can celebrate their sexual and racial identities while also addressing wider women’s issues.
References
[1] Peoples, Whitney A. (2008). “"Under Construction": Identifying Foundations of Hip-Hop Feminism and Exploring Bridges between Black Second-Wave and Hip-Hop Feminisms.” Meridians, 8(1), 19-52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40338910.
Vanessa Crespo is an upcoming senior at the University of Texas at Austin double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. She is interested in women’s rights, feminist theory, and Latin American politics. In the future, she is aiming at a career in Law but also sees herself as an advocate of women’s rights and human rights in Latin American.