Hip-hop feminism is a way of thinking and living that is rooted in different life experiences than either the traditional feminism of the Women’s Liberation Movement or the black feminism of the Civil Rights Movement. The ideology was born out of a need to understand the many cultural, social and political conditions that the women of the hip-hop generation (born after 1965) faced. These women weren’t dealing directly with issues of invisibility brought on by systems of segregation, for example. Rather, they were battling extreme visibility within the media and its negative stereotyping. Although some critics consider hip hop disempowering, merely reproducing dominant racist and sexist images of black women, I argue that there are many black women artists who attempt to challenge and undermine such representations. They prove that despite its limitations, hip-hop can in fact be emancipatory for black women. Scholars like Joan Morgan introduce us to this idea of hip-hop feminism. Drawing from this twenty-first century hip-hop feminist framework, my study examines where hip-hop culture and feminist thought and activism intersect. It also explores hip-hop feminism’s ability to empower and inspire young black women.
I will analyze artists Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé to explore the ways in which black women entertainers produce feminist knowledge and empowerment within the realms of hip-hop culture. By examining the collaborations of “Flawless” and “Feeling Myself” by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, including their respective lyrics and music video visuals, reviews by cultural critics, the work of contemporary women authors, and interviews with young black women, this project opens the door for further dialogue about what hip-hop feminism might add to current conversations surrounding race, class, gender, and sexuality, and hip-hop’s power to liberate black women.
