new wave feminism
A quasi-academic look at Feminism, politics & race relations through the lens of a 20-something year old Nigerian American who was born & raised up in the (still) segregated south but has relocated to the "liberal" yet historic & traditional north.
This blog is my space for an interdisciplinary examination of race, gender, class, sexuality - all things intersectional & multi-dimensional.
Feminism the way I see it...
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bell hooks is one of America’s most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism.
In Part One, hooks discusses the theoretical foundations and positions that inform her work (such as the motives behind representations, as well as their power in social and cultural life). hooks also explains why she insists on using the phrase “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” to describe the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality.
In Part Two, she demonstrates the value of cultural studies in concrete analysis through such subjects as the OJ Simpson case, Madonna, Spike Lee, and Gangsta rap. The aim of cultural analysis, she argues, should be the production of enlightened witnesses - audiences who engaged with the representations of cultural life knowledgeably and vigilantly.
redkuba Asks:
When I knew very little about feminism but still recognised the misogyny in some of the music I listened to (not just hip hop), it didn't bother me. Then I learnt more, and I started to become more aware of how it made me feel. Before it was just a novelty, or a blip in the lyrics that I felt I had to ignore, and now it's still pretty much a blip...but one that makes me feel guilty for listening. Do you ever feel the same way?
newwavefeminism Said:
You asked me this long ago, but I’m gonna answer it now (i wish tumblr notified people when they’re questions eventually get answered… FIX THIS!)
My feelings on music and feminism are odd. I’m not a fan of artists who use music to perpetuate problematic ideals. I feel like the problems with mainstream music is a structural one. Most music these days focus on shallow, obvious stereotypical portrayals of certain lifestyles because of the people who are the gatekeepers.
I don’t know if this is the doc I watched on Hip Hop, but heres a documentary called Beyond Beats & Rhymes. But a doc I did watch talked to men in the streets who were freestyling for the camera. When asked about the content of their rhymes, they said they could easily rap about uplift and motivation (some of them did) but that style of music is often ignored by record execs. Lupe has that song Dumb It Down that talks about the discouragement he recieves from his bosses from trying to make music that’s too uplifting. That he needs to just focus on rapping about bitches and hoes
So my issues with misogyny in hip hop & rap is a structural one. I hate that we perpetuate this lifestyle to everyone: The women who feel like their worth is literally tied to how much of a video vixen then can become, and men who feel like their masculinity and manhood is dependent on being hyper masculine, disrespectful and that they need to “bag as many fine bitches as possible.”
So I don’t feel guilty, just determined to change the industry and throw shine on all my talented friends who are trying to do the independent music thing in an industry that tries to pigeonhole them… I’m a very much believer in the power of young people and independent media to finally bring about true liberation from mainstream stereotypes and take control of the black culture and consciousness.
