Misogynoir

"Misogynoir" is a portmanteau term coined by queer black feminist scholar Moya Bailey. Misogynoir refers to anti-black misogyny, where race and gender together are factors in the hatred of black women. Bailey created the term to address misogyny directed toward black women in American visual and popular culture.[1]

The concept is grounded in the theory of intersectionality which analyzes how various social identities such as race, gender, class, and sexual orientation interrelate in systems of oppression.

Development

Bailey coined misogynoir in 2010 while she was a graduate student at Emory University.[2] She first used it on the Crunk Feminist Collective blog to discuss misogyny toward black women in hip hop music.[3] Misogynoir combines "misogyny" and "noir" to describe anti-black sexism faced by black women. Bailey considered other words (including "sistagyny") before settling on misogynoir.[4]

The media connotation of noir factored into Bailey's decision. In 2013, an article by Bailey on misogynoir and gender oppression in hip-hop was published in Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society.[5] The concept of misogynoir has been accepted and used as a term by many black feminists and cultural critics, especially in the blogosphere. [6][7][8]

In music

Bailey first used misogynoir to describe misogyny in music. She discusses Young Money's 2009 single "BedRock." In the song, Lil Wayne raps, "I knock her lights out / but she still shine." The lyric references physical violence. Bailey also mentions Travis Porter's version of "All the Way Turnt Up," which include misogynistic and lesbophobic language.[1]

Misogynoir has been cited by scholars to address black sexual politics in hip hop music and culture at large.[9][10] Respectability politics is one such issue. Coined by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, respectability politics refers to the tactics black people employ to promote racial uplift and obtain broader access to the public sphere.[11]

These strategies have been used by progressive black women in particular. Respectability politics reveal a double standard in the treatment of men and women. For example, when Frank Ocean revealed he had fallen in love with a man, the hip hop industry generally responded positively. However, when Nicki Minaj commented on her bisexuality, she was met with hostility and retracted her original claims of bisexuality. She claimed she had only said she was bisexual to elevate her career in its early days.[12] This example suggests hip hop culture is not receptive to queer black women.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bailey, Moya (14 March 2010). "They aren't talking about me...". The Crunk Feminist Collective. The Crunk Feminist Collective. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Misogynoir, moyazb.tumblr.com, October 2, 2013, retrieved Jul 13, 2014
  3. ↑ "Word of the Day: Misogynoir". Meta-activism.org. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  4. ↑ More on the origin of Misogynoir - Moyazb, retrieved Jul 13, 2014
  5. ↑ Bailey, Moya (2013). "New Terms of Resistance: A Response to Zenzele Isoke". Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society (Columbia University) 15 (14): 341–343. doi:10.1080/10999949.2014.884451. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "ON MOYA BAILEY, MISOGYNOIR, AND WHY BOTH ARE IMPORTANT". THE ViSIBILITY PROJECT. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Anita Hill: ‘We can evolve.’ But the same questions are being asked.". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Macias, Kelly (March 30, 2015). "“Sisters in the Collective Struggle”: Sounds of Silence and Reflections on the Unspoken Assault on Black Females in Modern America". Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies 1 –5. doi:10.1177/1532708615578415.
  9. ↑ "BEYONCE, BLACK FEMINISM AND PROGRESS". BLACK FEMINISTS. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Durham, Aisha; Cooper, Brittney; Morris, Susana (2013). "The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay". Signs (The University of Chicago Press) 38 (3): 721–737. doi:10.1086/668843. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Harris, Paisley (2003). "Gatekeeping and Remaking: The Politics of Respectability in African American Women's History and Black Feminism". Journal of Women's History (Johns Hopkins University Press) 15 (1): 212–220. doi:10.1353/jowh.2003.0025. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Nicki Minaj opens up on Childhood Abuse, Sexuality "http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nicki-minaj-opens-up-on-childhood-abuse-sexuality-19691231"