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Black feminist defines detriments of hip-hop, danger of chickenheads
By Elena Brown
brownele@mscd.edu

Photo by Amie Cribley • acribley@mscd.edu Joan Morgan spoke March 7 in St. Cajetan’s about the social implications of hip-hop for women and the mixture of hip-hop culture and feminism.

When the f-word is mentioned, most people don’t think of feminism. But Joan Morgan is changing that.

Morgan’s speech, “At The Intersection of Hip Hop and Feminism,” March 7 at St. Cajetan’s addressed the seemingly contradictory nature of being both a fan of hip-hop culture and a feminist.

“Not that there aren’t black women out there actively seeking agendas of empowerment – be it personal or otherwise – but let’s face it, sistas ain’t exactly checking for the f-word,” she said.

She echoes this sentiment in her latest book, When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down, which she read from during the speech. A “chickenhead” is a derogatory name for a woman who performs fellatio.

Morgan quoted candidly from the book when she rhetorically asked, “How come no one ever admits that the part of the reason women love hip-hop – as sexist as it is – is because all that in-your-face-testosterone makes our nipples hard?”

Metro’s Institute for Women’s Studies and Services hosted the event, which featured Morgan as the “bridge speaker” linking Black History Month and Woman History Month.

She was thrust into the field of writing in 1988 after a rape case in Central Park, when a white woman was raped by a group of young black and latino men. Morgan said she felt that during the case, the race of the victim and her attackers were discussed more than the rape itself. It was her outspoken views that grabbed the attention of the Village Voice, an alternative newspaper in New York City, which asked her to write an article.

At 24 years old, Morgan found herself with no journalism experience and a front-page piece. The byline read, “Black Feminist.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I’m having a hard enough time with the writer thing,” Morgan recalled. “But I never said I was a feminist.”

Morgan claims feminism found her before she found it.

“I decided it was time not to shirk the responsibility,” she said.

Morgan was later asked to review a tape of a new artist named Queen Latifah. Being from the South Bronx, which is considered the birthplace of hip-hop, she wrote the review.

“So, now I’m a black feminist music critic that writes about hip-hop,” she said. “It was good for a while. It was Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Run-DMC, and then came NWA.”

Morgan said it was the lyrics of NWA and similar groups that were hard to listen to and reconcile as a woman.

“The music is so sexual and gimmicky, it’s confusing and hard not to fall into its trap,” said Metro sophomore Brittney Corry, who attended the event.

Black Entertainment Television, or BET, is largely to blame for negatively encouraging the black community, Morgan said.

“Black Entertainment Tragedy has a lot to do with it,” Morgan said. “Have you seen BET Uncut? That’s soft porn! Girls need to feel validated and told they are beautiful because they exist. They need to feel encouraged to speak their minds. And it’s the parent or guardian that must be diligent and counteract what young people see.”

Many students were encouraged to attend the speech, including those in Allison Cotton’s criminal justice and criminality classes.

“I thought it would be important to hear her views on the impact of race and gender in the media and society,” Cotton said.

Morgan is a visiting professor at Duke University, where she teaches the history of hip-hop and participates on the Rap Sessions panel. Rap Sessions is a group of activists encouraging change in the hip-hop community by hosting national discussions.

“I can no more separate hip-hop from my feminism than I can from being black and a woman,” she said. “Hip-hop made me a better feminist because it made me ask really difficult questions. I never get comfortable.”

Morgan has yet to plan a follow-up to her book, but she is pleased about her contribution to the 500-page hip-hop anthology Homegirls Make Some Noise, due out in April.

“If I had a quarter for every time someone approached me and complained about women in music videos, I would probably not have to write any more books,” she said. “But if I had a dollar for every time someone did something (about it), I would have to write many, many, many more books.”