I came into this class with very little knowledge of hip-hop feminism, so the readings have opened my eyes tremendously to a side of feminism I’ve been blind to as a white woman. The quote that hit me the most was Joan Morgan’s, “I needed a feminism brave enough to fuck with the grays.” In mainstream feminism today people don’t often talk about typical gendered ideals like having a man always pay for the date or opening a door for a woman, so she doesn’t have to do it herself. Sometimes those little acts are nice, and a person can enjoy those while still being a feminist. The sad part of mainstream feminism is that it’s often presented as if only certain groups can take part in it, those groups generally being white cisgender women. This relates to my second quote about the ivory tower as those in said tower are the privileged elites. Hip-hop feminism is necessary to combat the exclusivity of mainstream white feminism and to introduce ideas not spoken of in the academy. Hip-hop feminists are willing to stand up for their ideals because they’re not always accepted. Hip-hop feminism intertwines itself with other social justice organizations too because feminism is intersectional. Hip-hop feminists truly do stand up to deal with “hard shit.” Yet, not every woman accepts feminism because there are flaws in the system and not all women feel like feminism represents their principles.
Through this course, I began to think of feminism and social norms in a more global context, as I was normally only taught in the American context. The definitions and expectations of manhood and womanhood are different between regions and cultures, and often times challenge the ideals held by Americans. Even in the American context, what it means to be a man has changed over time, but for women, the focus has almost always been on being visually appealing. Women are often criticized for just about every change they make to themselves, even if a woman chooses to be natural – she might be guilted into changing her natural looks. For the most part, this comes down to the subjectivity of men and the trends of the day. This I already knew, and it never ceases to anger me because it almost feels like women can do nothing right in the eyes of the patriarchy. Not only does the patriarchy criticize women for doing just about anything with their looks, it uses their sexuality against them and to limit them from reaching their true potential. Women still find a way, but the sexist and racist patriarchy works its hardest to hurt their chances.
I feel like I’ve learned that feminism, particularly hip-hop feminism does its best to make people feel included and that it covers a wide array of topics. Also, some women don’t accept feminism and that’s okay because it doesn’t mean they don’t believe in equal rights, rather they don’t like the state of feminism at the moment or would rather not label themselves.
