Queen Latifah Cultural Analysis Paper

This successful woman released the first song with rap in it, which topped the charts in both The United Staes and The United Kingdom. Although the lyrics do not contain any depth, this is still considered a very significant accomplishment because a caucasian woman participating in an activity that is mainly dominated by Black and Latino men takes a lot of courage . Despite all odds, she was able to take on this new music genre and make something out of

“U.N.I.T.Y” addresses the social issue in the hip-hop culture and other cultures of violence and disrespect towards women, making it an important piece in the hip-hop as literature movement. Although Latifah is specifically speaking to black women, most women can relate to the oppression of women. Women and men need to have unity, support each other; not disrespect one another.

To quote Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, an influential modern feminist, in her song ‘Flawless’ she defines a feminist as “a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”

Women’s music came from radical, grassroots origins in the 1970s thanks to contributions by brave women, mostly lesbians (Mosbacher, 2002). These women used non-violent, peaceful force to forge their own way into the music industry. It was a peaceful yet political revolution of togetherness and liberation. It brought together women of different backgrounds who produced easy-listening, mellow harmonies played with lyrics filled with tumultuous

Over the past few years tragic events seem to be surrounding our society. An array of killings, social protests, police brutality and racism have startled the nation. Lately celebrities have been addressing these issues more and more on TV, in interviews and in the public eye. One incredible artist just used her talent to address all of these issues and more in her new music video "Formation". Beyoncé is an iconic figure in our culture, spreading her talent, feminist views and activism worldwide. This video is one of a kind. It is not centered on her but on Black America. There have been many critics disagreeing with Beyoncé 's video. They felt that she spread negative messages of police throughout her video. Others, however, loved her video. They felt she used her platform to reach out and address issues. Supporters and critics of the video have expressed their opinions in many different ways. In this paper I will analyze this video that has been shared worldwide. The question I ask is: "How does Beyoncé depict the complexity of Black Americans?" In order to answer this question, I will apply Pentadic criticism to analyze this discourse.

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

Feminism is a living word. There can never truly be a one set definition for the word as the term has often shifted meanings to correspond to the time period. Feminists fight for the rights that men have under the United States Constitution and to have the right to not be discriminated against. Any action against any woman, intentional or not, goes against the principles that many women and men stand for.

Queen Latifah changed people’s perspectives on race, pride, gender, and culture. She created new things for the people to change themselves to become who they are. Queen Latifah advocates for people to live their own lives and says that women don't need a man to take care of them. Queen Latifah is a singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress. She had started rapping in high school. She was born in Newark, New Jersey. She has been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists. People use poetry, song, etc to send their message to us like queen Latifah did by making song. In Pough book also talk about race and gender in public sphere in chapter one. The framework from Perry book is white supremacy, as racist/sexism iconography has been deployed to perpetuate notation of innate biological inferiority. She is 47 years old. She never got married. Her parents were divorced when she was ten.

Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.

This includes standards of beauty, empowerment, culture, and the shared parts of our history. The message that Beyonce is trying to convey to us is that there are real issues going on that are constantly being ignored. She is also stating that if no one else will voice their opinions on these issues then she will. As I analyzed the position that I received was discrimination to African American culuture, police brutality, tragedy, and cultural pride. I agree with the message behind this video/song. For many years cultural issues have been ignored and failed to be solved due to political

Being a feminist is someone who believes in gender equality, and being an advocate to accomplish the goal of women empowerment. It is about being proud of who we are by taking control of our lives, not just as women, but also as individuals regardless of what the society and other people think. In her essay My Hips, My Caderas, Alisa Valdes, who is a Latina woman with an American mother and a Cuban father; Alisa faces challenges from each of her cultural groups. In her essay, although she mentioned the cons of being bi-racial, she also discovers the pros with it and uses it as an advantage when she can. For instance, the author feels empowered as a woman when she refuses to dance with Latino men who are merely drawn by her body and not her

In an article called ‘ladies first’: Queen Latifah’s Afrocentric feminist music, it talks about issues raised by feminist rap; rap that focuses on women’s importance, and the demand for equal treatment, and for the need to encourage each other. “Queen Latifah's feminism draws on the patterns of rap to assert the importance of women promoting themselves and other women. Rap, like all other forms of popular music, is not inherently feminist, but in this genre, as in other popular genres, female performers use specific generic qualities to promote a feminist message. Rap is noted for its emphasis on lyrics, and through the lyrics, female rappers make explicit assertions of female strength and autonomy.” Women talk about how they need to be seen as equal to a man through their lyrics and for women to encourage other women. That will push back the negativity from the male rappers toward the female rappers. For an example in a song called U.N.I.T.Y by Queen Latifah she said “Every time I hear a brother call a girl a b*** or a h*, trying to make a sister feel low, you know all of that got to go” Throughout her song she is letting male rappers know that they can’t be calling women those types of names, no matter what. Through time, the hip hop community is and will keep pushing back the misogyny and violence that rap

Hip-Hop is not only for men but is also for women. “Women have also played a role in the shaping of rap music. Rap artists such as Queen Latifah and the group Salt-N-Pepa represent a growing number of female rappers who speak for the advancement of black women in American society. Queen Latifah has emerged as a critic of male dominance in the music industry and sexist images of women presented by some male rap artists.” (“Rap”) “Queen Latifah became the first solo female rapper to receive mainstream radio play. Salt-N-Pepa became the first female rap group to go platinum and they paved the way for female artists such as Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and group TLC.” “However, rap music did not reach a broad audience until 1980 when the Sugar Hill Gang's song "Rapper's Delight" received widespread radio play. As rap groups assembled during the decade, they began to use their art to describe the harsh realities of inner city life. Unlike early rap music, which was generally upbeat and exuberant in tone, the rap style of the 1980s displayed a strong racial and political awareness. Toward the end of the decade, rap came to express an increasing sense of racial militancy.” (“Rap”) Rap wasn’t really popular until Sugar Hill Gang became popular with their Rapper’s Delight. Rap groups such as N.W.A. started

Beyoncé’s choice of lyrics in the song “Formation” reflect a cultural reclamation and celebration of being multiple things: an African-American of any sex, a woman of any race, and specifically a black woman. These multiple messages are allowed for by lyrical content that ultimately asks members of all these marginalized groups to “get into formation” in singing an anthem for empowerment. “Formation” begins with a few words from Messy Mya, a YouTube personality who was murdered in 2010 and was known for his overt satire regarding violence against the black community in New Orleans. This sets the stage for the political message the following lyrics portray. “The intersection between hip-hop and politics has empowered a generation of youth to believe that they not only have rights but maybe even an obligation to make a difference in their world” (Alalman, p. 42, 2011). Expressing self-feelings, thoughts or views through music can make a change in the world, which is what Beyoncé does through her music. The actions in the song is further reinforced in the music video, through African American women fighting for respect on the streets, creating a sense of devotion in the audience. Moreover, the artist openly addresses the culture of open social hate towards black features “I like my baby hair with baby hair afro, I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils”, to which she responds by accepting them as special traits to be cherished and not ashamed of. By embracing all these pejorative

While on her previous albums, Beyoncé was trying to empower all women, on Lemonade, Beyoncé speaks directly to black women. “As Jacqui Germain astutely noted on feministing.com, ‘Beyonce using the specific cultural marker of ‘Becky,’ [a social trope for white womanhood] in Lemonade is less a question of who’s excluding whom and why, and more so just us watching Beyonce be the ... multi-layered Black woman’” (Thompson, C., 2016). It was through this album that Beyoncé changed how the public thought of her. She was no longer afraid to not fully share what she wanted to say about current culture, and finally talked straight to black women to raise them up. It was also through this album that Beyoncé changed her image. Before her sixth album, Beyoncé definitely had feminist songs, but with Lemonade, she used rage to share her message, a message telling women that even after getting married, a man may not always be right for