• DOI:10.1177/0021934713497365
• Corpus ID: 144101223

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and Nicki Minaj

@article{White2013MissyE,
  title={Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and Nicki Minaj},
  author={Theresa Renee White},
  journal={Journal of Black Studies},
  year={2013},
  volume={44},
  pages={607 - 626}
}

• T. White
• Published 1 September 2013
• Art
• Journal of Black Studies

Since the emergence of hip-hop in the early 1980s, African American women’s sexuality and its correlation to their search for self-identity and self-control have been at the forefront of the genre’s discourse. Using a multidisciplinary theoretical framework (objectification theory, scripting theory, and Black feminist epistemologies), this article explores the fashion aesthetic, imagery, and celebrity culture of two major African American female hip-hop megastars, Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott, to examine how the sexual politics of hip-hop culture has helped to define their sexuality, agency, and subjectivity. By examining the style and professional choices that fashioned their careers in hip-hop media, we explore the extent to which they have refuted, or submitted, to the distorted view of African American female sexuality, and thus contributed to their objectification or empowerment.