http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdpJh_zc6k8
As I read this interview with hip-hop journalist Joan Morgan, I began to wonder if we exceptionalize female rappers versus female rockers. By this statement, I mean, do we try to frame female rappers as having to struggle more against a hypermasculine culture versus female rockers?
I decided I would explore this question through Bif Naked--real name, Beth Torbert. In the video, "I Love Myself Today", Torbert uses the same type of dress as does Trina in the video from two posts ago. She emphasizes (at 3:10ish) "I'm gonna get my way, uh huh" as she points towards her chest emphasizes her body. Through her action and lyrics, she utilizes the same ideas that Trina did within "One Minute Man"--that is the use of the body as a controlling force. Thus, after drawing on some of these similarities, I did start to notice a bit of exceptionality towards female rappers. Maybe the focus should not be on female singers of a specific genre but how female singers in general (unless pop stars) usually need male backups or male identities to buttress their appeal and their spread.
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