Freaks, Gold Diggers, Divas & Dykes:

The Socio Historical construction of Black Woman's Sexuality in Mainstream Hip Hop

Mainstream Hip Hop culture has played pivotal role in presenting meanings individuals give to adolescent African American women's sexual health experiences. However, it is important to look at how their images have been framed within a racialized and sexualized socio historical context to recognize that these are not new presentations. Rather, this is part of a long history of the sexualization of Black women. The remnants of the foundational Jezebel, Mammy, Matriarch, and Welfare Mother images of African American womanhood remain today, as exemplified by similar, yet more sexually explicit scripts that include the Freak, Gold Digger, Diva, and Dyke

This talk explores the historical development of current sexual scripts for young Black women in mainstream Hip Hop culture. The relevance of these current sexual scripts to sexual identity development, sexual risk-taking behaviors, and interpersonal relationship dynamics are also addressed. You can also watch this video on Youtube.

Click to View Additional Related Resources : (alphabetical order)

• Freaks, Gold Diggers, Divas & Dykes: Socio Historical Construction of Black Womanhood

• Effects of images of African American women in Hip Hop on early adolescents’ attitudes toward physical attractiveness and interpersonal relationships

• Hip Hop Honey or Video Ho: African American preadolescents’ understanding of female sexual scripts in Hip Hop culture

• The influence of mainstream Hip Hop’s female sexual scripts on African American women’s dating relationship experiences

• Social networks influencing Black girls' interpretations of Chris Brown's violence against Rihanna