The quote on the first page of the (Ph)eminists of the New School article pretty much sums up what I learned from this section of the course ~ “They are not focused on what the boys say and think about girls, but rather on expressing who they are and what they are learning about life through art.” The “they” in this case is the womxn of hip hop and graffiti.

I think it would be naive to say that the womxn who take up space in the hip hop world are all solely focused on expressing themselves. However, the main thing I took away from these readings and class discussions is that being a womxn in the traditionally masculine dominated world of hip-hop is not necessarily about competing for acceptance of the male gaze, nor for acceptance from the public or dominant culture – instead, it is about, quite simply, accepting one’s self and claiming space for one’s self in that sector of the art world. 

During class we discussed the difference between male as a gender and masculinity as an energy. In Graffiti Grrlz, this is discussed as well and I enjoyed learning more about the different ways these energies – masculine/feminine – are performed in the world of hip hop and graffiti art. I found this interesting because I’ve always questioned the legitimacy of assigning certain qualities like aggression and risk taking as “masculine”. Learning about the ways the different grrlz perform their femininity and masculinity was eye opening for me, and the awareness of the performance they put into their art and aesthetic, their names, etc., was inspiring for me to read about as well. 

In general, I’d love to have more discussions about the full spectrum of feminine and masculine energies that all of us as humans have the ability to express – and to de/construct more within ourselves as a class, especially in the context of our unique creative abilities. Maybe a chance to perform something ourselves? 🙂