McNair Scholars Research Journal
Abstract
Afrocentrism is a political framework that has aided Black intellectuals and scholars in re-conceptualizing a world with Blackness at its center. However, Afrocentrism has left the most marginalized people in the Black community—Black women, Black queer individuals and Black trans women—invisible and exploited. Hip-Hop Feminism, a Black feminist movement that emerged in the 1980s, developed a powerful framework to refute the oppressive language and sexually-exploitive images of women in mainstream hip-hop. Inaccurate and stereotypical images of Black women continue to plague Black social media, recreating toxic and controlling images of Black womanhood. This paper examines the multifaceted framework of Hip-Hop Feminism and discusses its relevance in dismantling the negative and reductive images of Black women that dominate social media.