Malcolm X, an African-American human rights activist, once said: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” Black women have historically been stereotyped as inherently more sexual than their white counterparts. This sexualization has a history deeply rooted in racism and colonialism, predating the Transatlantic slave trade and continuing even to the modern day.
Prior to the Transatlantic slave trade, English colonists would see scantily clad indigenous Africans and mistake this for sexual promiscuity. The nudity of the indigenous peoples was a norm in their societies; however, to European travelers, nudity was a sign of sexual deviance and clashed heavily with Christian doctrine. Emboldened by their racist ideologies and beliefs in white superiority, European colonizers saw the African women as schemers, constantly contriving plans to find a lover. African women were inaccurately stereotyped as fiery and untameable, a contrast to the stereotypical white woman at the time, who was pictured to be pure, demure, and holy.
Once slave ships arrived in America, Black women were sold off and raped by enslavers, which created the Jezebel stereotype. Colonists used the Jezebel stereotype as a justification for the rape of Black women. The Jezebel was an insatiable Black woman who desired sexual intercourse with white men. The name of the stereotype connects Black women to the biblical Jezebel, who was conniving, promiscuous, and exemplified lust. Because Black women were seen as innately hypersexual beings, enslavers objectified them and defined them as “unrapeable” as Black women were presumed to have “desired” the advances of white men and possessed an insatiable need to engage in sex and become pregnant. Of course, this was not at all truthful. Black women were usually treated as vessels for reproduction; the economy of slavery depended on their ability to birth more slaves, so they were often raped or coerced to have more children. When enslaved Africans were being auctioned off, the Black woman’s worth was dependent on her fertility. Even after the end of slavery in the U.S., Black women were still seen as sexual beings in the public eye. According to the Jim Crow Museum, "the depiction of black women as Jezebels was common in American material culture. Everyday items - such as postcards, sheet music, fishing lures, drinking glasses, and so forth - depicted scantily dressed black women, lacking modesty and sexual restraint." The Jezebel stereotype, however, has arguably taken a new form as of late.
Throughout the late 20th century and early 21st century, male rappers constantly portrayed Black women sexually through the video vixen, the modernization of the Jezebel stereotype. Video vixens are women, often Black women, who appear in rap videos. Scantily clad, they reinforce the rapper's persona of having many women at his beck and call. Often, the video vixens are shown off along with the rapper’s items and money, as if the women, too, are items which he has collected. These music videos all contain similar shots; the rapper is surrounded by more than a dozen women, women in explicit clothing such as lingerie, and other visuals meant to invoke the male gaze. The women in these videos tended to be lighter-skinned Black women with straight or wavy hair and bodies that fit the beauty standard. Some women, however, aimed to take the decades of sexualization and reclaim that into power. Instead of becoming vessels for male rappers to show the world their wealth, these women decided to become the rappers. Lil' Kim was one such woman.
Before Lil' Kim released her solo debut album, she was part of a group called Junior M.A.F.I.A. In 1995, this group released a debut album, Conspiracy, where Lil' Kim entered the mainstream for the first time. Her sex appeal and lascivious lyrics made waves in an industry where women were delegated to eye candy in music videos. Instead of being the woman showing her body while men rapped about their sexual escapades, she rapped about hers. After centuries of subjugation because of being perceived as hypersexual beings, Black women such as Lil’ Kim reclaimed this, becoming the ones to dictate how they were perceived. Lil' Kim's debut album, Hard Core, further reinforced how she flipped the script. For example, the intro track of Hard Core is a skit that depicts a man going to see an X-rated film to pleasure himself to Lil' Kim. By opening the album with this track, Lil' Kim uses the man to show that instead of the man commanding the woman and dictating her sexual behavior, Lil' Kim is the one in power, compelling the man to come to her. She entered rap—a field which, at the time, contained plenty of misogynist lyrics and often treated women as trophies—as an equal. Other female rappers at the time, such as Foxy Brown, similarly used raunchy lyrics and sexual behavior to own their sexuality instead of being delegated to the video vixen.
Many blame female rappers for the sexualization of Black women and put the onus on them to portray chastity. This point tends to not only fail to consider the agency of the particular Black woman, as women deserve control in how they are seen individually, but ignores Black women who make non-sexual music as well in favor of mainstream raunchy artists. For some rappers, perhaps the critique of “giving a bad impression of the Black community” holds credence. Yet for every rapper in which that claim may be logical, there are at least five in which the argument is bad faith and ignores the non-sexual work the rapper puts out. Additionally, society constantly finds ways to portray Black women as sexual beings. If it’s not the video vixen, it’s the promiscuous best friend in TV. If it’s not the promiscuous best friend, then it’s the sassy, fiery prostitute. None of these portrayals even remotely give Black women agency in their portrayal on the big screen. So for these rappers to choose how they are portrayed and reclaim their agency is undeniably powerful. Numerous female rappers forgo sexual themes in their songs in favor of social commentary, or even include both, showing the media that no, Black women are not one-dimensional. With The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which is regarded by many as one of the best albums of all time, Lauryn Hill presented her perspective on love, spirituality, and motherhood, providing a contrast with raunchy music. Lauryn Hill inspired numerous conscious rap artists, such as Little Simz, whose album NO THANK YOU covers themes such as her distrust in the music industry, which she likens to the slave trade in the album opener “Angel.”
Nowadays, female rappers such as Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, and others show that rapping about sex and rapping about deeper themes are not antithetical. In songs such as “WAP,” Grammy winning rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B explore extremely raunchy sexual themes. This song exploded in popularity, and led to many believing that these women are solely sexual, again reducing Black women to their bodies. Many still believe to this day that these women lack versatility. However, both women cover other issues in their music. In “Cobra,” Megan Thee Stallion raps about her depression and mental health issues, while in “Worthy” she raps about her self-worth. In “Be Careful,” Cardi B raps about a relationship in which the man continually cheated on her and how sick and hurt she felt. Interestingly, Megan Thee Stallion has told interviewers that Lil’ Kim is one of her favorite rappers; when she heard Lil’ Kim for the first time, she thought Lil’ Kim rapped better than the men.
It is pertinent to understand that even with this reclamation and the progress made in terms of dispelling these stereotypes, there’s still a long way to go. Black women are still stereotyped in numerous types of media portrayed as prostitutes, mirroring the Jezebels in the past. Seeing powerful Black women being reduced to people who self-sexualize to get famous in the public eye is disappointing. But I have hope that one day, Black women will be seen in a world absent these stereotypes.
Cover Image from: https://www.1854.photography/2021/01/jessica-gianelli/
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