Throughout the semester, we as a class read hundreds of pages worth of feminist Hip-Hop literature. Constantly throughout the weeks we were exposed to countless new ideas, concepts and perspectives that reinforced many of our values while challenging many others. When many hear the words “Hip Hop Culture” images of brash and defiant black men surrounded by men and women flood the mind. Meanwhile, we think of forgotten youth in the Bronx free-styling, beat-boxing or breaking on cardboard in condemned buildings, we think of lone graffetarias doing everything to make their mark, and we think of black women fearlessly carving out a space for themselves in a culture dominated by toxic masculinity. Personally, this class has allowed me to expand the horizon of my knowledge and understanding of how Hip Hop culture has been used as a space for black and brown brown folk, particularly women and femmes, to  claim their identity and challenge socio-political norms. Also, it has allowed me to form a closer connection to the culture as queer trans women of color. Through the quotes in this project, five from Graffiti Grrlz and five from assigned readings, I hoped to examine what I learned about why black and brown folx turned to Hip Hop, how and why women and femmes continue to carve out a niche for themselves in Hip Hop, and the important, under recognized work Hip Hop Feminists (self-identified or not) produce through their space.

     First, in acknowledgment of the roots of Hip Hop culture in providing a means of expression for underprivileged urban youth, I included quotes from Tricia Rose’s All Aboard the Night Train and Murray Forman’s The Hood Comes First: Race, Space and Place in Hip Hop. In her book Rose states that “Afro-diasporic youth have designated the street as the area for competition, and style as the prestige-awarding event” I felt as though that this fully encapsulated the motivations of black and brown youth participating in Hip Hop culture during its inception (62). As millions of dollars were divested from the city of New York in the seventies, the Bronx and its largely Afro-Latinx population were overlooked in favor of servicing the wealthy, white suburbanites working white collar jobs. With community centers closed, schools understaffed and underfunded, and more buildings on a block vacant than occupied, it is no wonder folx looked for a means of escape. Considering that my parents grew up in and around the city during the seventies and eighties, I found this particularly exciting to learn about through readings and watching The Get Down.

     Next, I found Sharpley Whiting’s quote in the reading I see the Same Ho, describing the pressure black women experience in relation to body image and identity, to be extremely powerful. Additionally, I found it perfectly representative of one of the many reasons women and femmes have struggled to ensure a space for themselves in the Hip Hop community. In a culture that simultaneously promotes realness and empowerment while regularly portraying women as little more than eye candy it can be a Catch-22 for female artists looking to express their unique identity.  Considering how hard it is for women and femmes to express themselves in traditional Hip Hop spaces, the effort that has been made to provide safe spaces to explore and express feminine identity is undeniably commendable and a perspective I am glad I have gained from experiencing the class..

     Finally, I felt the quote featured in the chapter “Doing Feminist Community Without “Feminist” Identity” in the book Graffiti Grrlz, Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora, represents why I feel that the work that is done by Hip Hop feminists is important regardless of whether they identify with the label or not. In the chapter, Profesora Pabon stated “Feminism is too often defined by Anglo Western, liberal feminist politics; this is the ‘feminism’ these graffiterias reject, a ‘feminism’ with borders” (116). Considering not only the fact that historically that the Suffrage movement that paved the way for feminism was built off the back of black and brown women, but also the fact that modern “third wave feminism” Consistently under recognized and under service the needs and wants of women of color, the desire to distance oneself from the label is understandable. Before taking this course, I could not grasp how an individual could dedicate their lives to the empowerment of feminine identity only to reject the label of feminists, I can say proudly that I am happy to have gained that perspective.

     In summary, the content in this course provided me with an opportunity to expose myself to ideals, perspectives and concepts. Through this exposure I not only gained a newfound appreciation and connection to Hip Hop culture as a feminist trans woman of color, but I also learned its integral role in providing people lost in a world of racism, sexism, homophobia and more, a vector to speak their reality and hopefully change it.