Sadie Andras<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, She\u2019s a Gold Digger\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Objectification and Commodification of Black Women in Contemporary Culture<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black women in the United States have continually been objectified and commodified because their skin color and gender. Both darker skin tones and women are considered \u201csubordinate\u201d in our society that notoriously \u201ccategorizes people, things, and ideas in terms of their difference from one another\u201d (Hill Collins 56). This binary form of categorization is harmful because it allows preconceived ideas of which categories are dominant and which are subordinate to form and take control. Moreover, intersectionality thought argues that every identity humans have, including race, gender, class, and sexuality, cannot be separated as they are all connected to each other, and together, they construct a full-fledged identity. In Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images, Patricia Hill Collins states, \u201cAnalyzing the particular controlling images applied to African-American women reveals the specific contours of Black women\u2019s objectification as well as the ways in which oppressions of race, gender, sexuality, and class intersect\u201d (Hill Collins 57). Using an intersectional lens when examining controlling images allows a better understanding of these images and what they try to impose. These controlling images, originally created by the powerful institution that is White America, are still perpetuated within the Black community, reinforcing the objectifying of women. This perpetuation is often on display in hip-hop music and hip-hop music videos such as \u201cGold Digger\u201d by Kanye West. In \u201cGold Digger,\u201d Kanye West perpetuates the controlling images of Black women by participating in the use of stereotypes against and the objectification of Black women\u2019s bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first verse, West makes sure to warn other men about these women when he says, \u201cIf you fuckin\u2019 with this girl, then you better be paid\/ You know why? It take too much to touch her\/ From what I heard she got a baby by Busta\/ My best friend said she used to fuck with Usher.\u201d West\u2019s lyrics paint Black women negatively and coincide with the jezebel, or \u201choochie,\u201d controlling image, displaying Black women as reliant, domineering, gold digging (Hill Collins 81). Mentioning rumors he has heard about \u201cthis girl\u201d and her relations with other famous, wealthy men, he further contributes to that \u201choochie\u201d image that ultimately tries to control Black women\u2019s sexuality. West later says, \u201cEighteen years, eighteen years\/ She got one of your kids, got you for eighteen years\/\u2026And on the 18th<\/sup> birthday, he found out it wasn\u2019t his?!\u201d Here, he accuses Black women of using children to manipulate and trap men for their money. These lyrics are reminiscent of the \u201cwelfare queen\u201d controlling image that was created and stigmatized during the Reagan administration in the early 1980\u2019s \u201cto mask the effects of cuts in government spending on social welfare programs\u201d (Hill Collins 62). Thus, the discourse surrounding welfare programs and the \u201cdeterioration of U.S. interests\u201d targeted Black women, allowing for the perpetuation of a Black women as \u201csymbols of what was deemed wrong with America.\u201d This forced depiction of the lazy, promiscuous Black woman using government money to gain a luxurious life has proven so extremely powerful that it remains inescapable in the present-day, even against statistics that refute the idea. West successfully perpetuates both the \u201choochie\u201d and \u201cwelfare queen\u201d controlling images with his own accusations against Black women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n West asks, \u201cBut I\u2019m looking for the one have you seen her? \/ My psychic told she\u2019ll have a ass like Serena\/ Trina, Jennifer Lopez\u2026\u201d Here he lists a voluptuous figure as his only requirement for \u201cthe one,\u201d while sexualizing very famous women of color as he uses their bodies as an example of what makes \u201cthe one\u201d desirable. The music video is also filled with women of color dressed in lingerie, dancing and posing in front of magazine covers and next to him while he performs. In one scene, there is a room full of these women with him while they dance, objectifying these women by portraying them as only sexual entertainment for him. However, this is perceived as both normal and acceptable because Black women have been sexualized and have had their bodies put on display, not only by Black men, but also by White society for hundreds of years. In the 19th<\/sup> century, White parties and balls would often have Black women on display for entertainment much like West does in his music video, and \u201cmost often attention was not focused on the complete black female on display\u2026She is there to entertain guests with the naked image of Otherness. They are not to look at her as a whole human being. They are only to notice certain parts\u201d (bell hooks 62). Although Black women\u2019s bodies are often celebrated in contemporary culture, there is still separation of their bodies from them as people. West, although expressing his positive attraction to curvaceous bodies, still objectifies the women of color he names in his song and music video by refusing to allow them to be seen as more than a body. While he accuses Black women of only desiring him and other men for their money, he fails to mention any aspects of why he desires these women other than their physical appearance. West sounds hypocritical at times, delivering to listeners the message that although men set the standards, women are not allowed to have their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In what are some of the last lines of the song, West says, \u201cI know there\u2019s dudes ballin\u2019, and yeah, that\u2019s nice\/ And they gonna keep callin\u2019 and tryin\u2019, but you stay right, girl\/ And when you get on, he\u2019ll leave yo\u2019 ass for a White girl.\u201d This is the only point in which West mentions race; however, it verifies that this song is specifically about women of color. Without the inclusion of this line, the song could have been about women in general, but Black women are \u201cOthered\u201d by West. Patricia Hill Collins writes, \u201cMany Black men reject Black women as marital partners, claiming that Black women are less desirable than White ones because we are too assertive\u201d (60). However, this idea of Black women being \u201ctoo assertive\u201d to be \u201cmarital partners\u201d is another example of a false narrative imposed by controlling images. These stereotypes are often so deeply-rooted and powerful that even members of the Black community, especially Black men, fail to recognize that these controlling images are not actual representations of Black women. West\u2019s binary thinking is an example of how powerful White hegemony is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n West fails to represent Black women in a way that does not minimize their existence in \u201cGold Digger,\u201d as every second of the song and music video relies on controlling images of Black women. West\u2019s participation in binary thinking reinforces Black women\u2019s status as \u201cOther\u201d while also reinforcing the idea that White women are superior as he portrays a Black woman \u201cas an object to be manipulated and controlled\u201d (Hill Collins 56). This type of objectification and discrimination of Black women often happens in hip-hop music and typically by male members of their own community. However, Black women in hip-hop are often encouraging and proud of both their bodies and their abilities, proving that they consistently \u201c[resist] these ideological justifications for [their] oppression\u201d even through its omnipresence in the United States (Hill Collins 70). Although they are consistently placed on the outskirts of society, they keep fighting for progression. The existence of Black men, like West, who perpetuate the controlling images of Black women may be due to the culture of toxic masculinity or the power of White U.S. institutions. Most likely, it is both that deserve credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n