Date of Award
1-1-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.M. in Music
First Advisor
Thomas A. Peattie
Second Advisor
Michael C. Gardiner
Third Advisor
Theresa A. Starkey
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Black women have long been subjected to misrepresentations and stereotypes which have denied them full access to their own femininity and womanhood. These misrepresentations and stereotypes are pervasive in Euro-American culture and can be clearly observed in film, television, and music. As a result, these women have combatted such narratives as an expression of agency. One of the most notable ways Black women have accomplished these goals is through Rap and R&B, genres that have allowed them to shape and reshape notions of femininity and Black womanhood. The participation of Black women in these musical traditions frequently draw on womanist rhetoric as a form of empowerment. Furthermore, the globalization of these genres has served to reinforce Pan-Africanist notions of a ‘Global Africa’ and “Africanisms.” Black women who perform and record Rap and R&B music across the African Diaspora reshape and complicate these notions. Two albums, NAO’s And Then Life Was Beautiful and Little Simz’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, showcase the way Black women across the diaspora explore femininity and Black womanhood and engage with Pan-Africanist rhetoric. In doing so, these women have not only helped reshape notions of femininity and Black womanhood but have also engaged with and often subverted the conventions of Rap and R&B, making clear in turn the multidimensionality of cultural transmission.
Recommended Citation
Castillo, Alonya Lei, "Expressions of Femininity, Black Feminism, and Pan-Africanist Rhetoric in Black Popular Music" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2424.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2424
Concentration/Emphasis
Music