The Conceptualization of Gender and Race in Rap Music: Its Impact on the Political Engagement of Black Women

This thesis explores the underexamined relationship between rap music and the political engagement of Black women, using theories of Black feminist thought: Intersectionality and hip-hop feminism. Rather than seeking a definitive or binary conclusion, the research examines the complexity of how rap influences cultural representation, resistance, and political engagement. Through in depth analysis, several key findings emerged: the burden of responsibility Black women often carry in political spaces; their role as activist and advocates; the empowering representation of rap as a tool for identity and resistance agency and ownership over the narrative of Black womanhood; rap as a reflection of lived experience; the commodification and oversexualization of Black women within the genre, media literacy, and the development of political consciousness. These findings reveal that Black women's political engagement when interacting with rap is filled with contradictions and complexities as a result of this cultural expression and representation. Therefore, rap music emerges as a powerful site for negotiating and navigating identity and articulating socio-political realities. This presents an underrepresented factor in the political engagement of Black women.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Osei-Bonsu, Audrey

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Faulkner, Brandy S.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Jalalzai, Farida
• Poets, Desiree

• : Rap
• Gender
• Race
• Black feminist thought
• Hip hop feminism
• Political Engagement
• Empowerment
• Resistance
• Misogyny

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:44040

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/134243