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Throughout the duration of this course, we have discussed how many marginalized groups are affected by the different branches of hip hop. This includes people of color, women, those identifying with the LGBTQ+ community and many more. The quotes that I decided to portray for this project shed light on the struggles that female identifying bodies have had to endure. I chose these quotes by looking through the pdf’s and selecting which ones were related to my collection of showing female perseverance and beauty. I resonated with these quotes because as a woman that listens and is surrounded by hip hop, I witness these struggles and support movements that empower these women. These women then serve as a guide and influence for others to continue to lift themselves up. This is where the feminist movement comes in. Many of the quotes I chose I also agree with and saw them as important in showing how females within the hip hop world demonstrate resilience.
I decided to put the first quote because it serves as a guide as to why individuals choose to perform. Performance provides a space for individuals to showcase themselves and their beliefs. When it comes to hip hop, they are putting “into motion” the core foundations of hip hop while “re-articulating” it “in new and powerful ways.” That leads to the second quote that speaks to what hip hop does as a genre of music. Hip hop is indeed a lifestyle that rose out of the struggle and as a result serves as a foundation for these marginalized groups to continue to use this as a platform to own their stories. Hip hop is often seen as a source of violence instead of seeing that it is a response to what the founders of hip hop lived and therefore built into hip hop. Even so, with this comes a sense of power that people of color and specifically women of color struggle to grasp because of the “hegemonic order” that is established throughout society. Because of the uneven distribution of power and authority, women are one of the most marginalized groups. One of the ways in which they are seen as commodities is how women are valued because of their sexuality and how appealing they are to men. Either way that women present themselves, something will always be wrong because our male-dominated society suppresses women so that they will remain up top. Therefore, there is a constant need for black women to feel represented in mainstream media. More recently we are seeing waves of empowerment that have allowed women to be unapologetic about who they are. This is evident in artists like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and Young MA. This is also very prevalent in the lives of graffiteras and other women who use art as a form of expression and push back.
I wanted to speak on the powerful resistance that the feminist movement because it is truly remarkable and something that motivates me to continue fighting for myself. This hits home for me because I have had moments that as a woman I have been undermined and have learned to be an advocate for myself. This is a movement that is worth acknowledging in order to continue it.
