Nicki Minaj: Role Model for Little Girls or a Superficial Vehicle Driving Self-Hatred in the Black Community?
I'm not afraid to admit it. I adore the raunchy rap mogul Nicki Minaj for her empowerment of little girls, her brilliant aura of "girl power" and her steadfast showcase of being unique, having a bold and assertive personality and autonomy. All of her songs are catchy and fun-filled...let's face it. Her style is full of unique personality and spunk, and this is what makes her so popular among young girls.
But this icon has made some questionable choices about what subliminal messages she perpetrates to her impressionable audience largely made up of young girls. (Surely she is not the only black celebrity guilty, but this blog only focuses on Nicki) It is not uncommon for an iconic female celebrity to establish a relationship between herself and her fans and coin it with a term. For instance, Lady gaga calls her fans little monsters, Mariah Carey (at least at one point) called her fans lambs, and Ms. Minaj calls her fans Barbies.
It is seemingly harmless to choose a symbol of all things girly and pink. But if you pay attention to the way Nicki Minaj often portrays herself as a blonde haired, fair skinned and blue eyed beauty, all too similar to the famous Barbie Doll...It can send the wrong messages about skin tone, and assimilation to European standards of beauty, which should not be in alignment with our own, because we were not biologically constructed to have blonde hair, and blue eyes. But that does not mean that we are not PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL the way we are. (Disclaimer: I personally wouldn't be caught dead wearing blue or gray contact lenses or platinum blonde hair, because I prefer to look as natural and minimalist as possible. But to each his / her own. I have no problem with weaves, straightening of hair, wearing makeup contact lenses, the works. But only for the purposes of creativity and exploration, NOT REPLACEMENT of one's own ethnic culture in result of self-hatred or cultural misidentification. )
My point is to just sit and question, what message does this send to our little black girls?
If you will, take a deeper look at some of her lyrics. It could VERY EASILY be argued that, whether intentionally or in result of ignorance, she reinforces racist perceptions of black people and subconsciously promotes self-hatred. Here are just a few examples of her perpetrating dissonance and / or inferiority within the black community:
1. STUPID HOE song:
a)"Them nappy headed hoes but my kitchen good"
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the terminology, "my kitchen good" implies that the back of her hair is not coarse or kinky, but fine / straight. Here she is clearly distancing herself as a superior to other black girls with kinky hair. What kind of message is this sending to our young natural black girls? To make fun of each other for the way they were born?
b) "Look bubbles go back to your habitat. MJ gone and I ain't having that. How you gon' be the stunt double to the nigga monkey."
The late Michael Jackson had a chimpanzee named bubbles. Obviously, Nicki means this line as comedic relief calling her enemies animals. So is the second half of the phrase just a misunderstood use of ebonics; the "nigga monkey" meant to reference the late king of pop "the nigga" as the owner of the actual monkey, or is it something more perverse... It is unclear, but it is way too reckless a word choice to have to compare black females to a REAL MONKEY. One may argue that this is a desensitization of the old-fashioned and racist comparison of black folk to primates...but if the tables were turned, and someone like Miley Cyrus were to say this, THERE WOULD BE HELL ON EARTH for the young singer, PICKET SIGNS, CANCELLED TOURS and more. We as black people don't realize that people will treat you how you treat yourself. If other races see that we think its okay to be compared to monkeys because WE DO IT OUR DAMN SELVES how can we expect to eliminate ignorance and racism???
2. FINALE song (young money):
a) "I'm in that cotton pink bent, Put mass on the guts, White on white whips, Kunta Kinte on the clutch"
In summation, I want to clarify that I am not a Nicki Minaj hater. There are honestly many positives to her influences on young girls, but I write this blog to say Nicki you need to be more conscious of the messages you are sending your audience about black people!! You may be a proponent of overcoming the struggle, but don't forget who you are and where you came from. Ignorance is no excuse to reinforce pigmentation, bigotry and low-self esteem because these little girls want to do everything you do, look like you, say what you say and ultimately be just like you. Use your influence to make little girls proud to be who they already are and support one another.
But this icon has made some questionable choices about what subliminal messages she perpetrates to her impressionable audience largely made up of young girls. (Surely she is not the only black celebrity guilty, but this blog only focuses on Nicki) It is not uncommon for an iconic female celebrity to establish a relationship between herself and her fans and coin it with a term. For instance, Lady gaga calls her fans little monsters, Mariah Carey (at least at one point) called her fans lambs, and Ms. Minaj calls her fans Barbies.
My point is to just sit and question, what message does this send to our little black girls?
If you will, take a deeper look at some of her lyrics. It could VERY EASILY be argued that, whether intentionally or in result of ignorance, she reinforces racist perceptions of black people and subconsciously promotes self-hatred. Here are just a few examples of her perpetrating dissonance and / or inferiority within the black community:
1. STUPID HOE song:
a)"Them nappy headed hoes but my kitchen good"
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the terminology, "my kitchen good" implies that the back of her hair is not coarse or kinky, but fine / straight. Here she is clearly distancing herself as a superior to other black girls with kinky hair. What kind of message is this sending to our young natural black girls? To make fun of each other for the way they were born?
b) "Look bubbles go back to your habitat. MJ gone and I ain't having that. How you gon' be the stunt double to the nigga monkey."
The late Michael Jackson had a chimpanzee named bubbles. Obviously, Nicki means this line as comedic relief calling her enemies animals. So is the second half of the phrase just a misunderstood use of ebonics; the "nigga monkey" meant to reference the late king of pop "the nigga" as the owner of the actual monkey, or is it something more perverse... It is unclear, but it is way too reckless a word choice to have to compare black females to a REAL MONKEY. One may argue that this is a desensitization of the old-fashioned and racist comparison of black folk to primates...but if the tables were turned, and someone like Miley Cyrus were to say this, THERE WOULD BE HELL ON EARTH for the young singer, PICKET SIGNS, CANCELLED TOURS and more. We as black people don't realize that people will treat you how you treat yourself. If other races see that we think its okay to be compared to monkeys because WE DO IT OUR DAMN SELVES how can we expect to eliminate ignorance and racism???
2. FINALE song (young money):
a) "I'm in that cotton pink bent, Put mass on the guts, White on white whips, Kunta Kinte on the clutch"
An obvious reference to slavery, and popular controversial mini-series ROOTS. Call me hypersensitive, but I personally don't find slavery jokes / analogies very funny or amusing. And the black community CERTAINLY does not find it funny or amusing when white people adopt these views whether joking or serious...so how about we reevaluate these "jokes" and just do away with them if we don't want other people to think its okay?
3. DANCE (A$$) song line:
a) "If he got a mandingo then I buy him a dashiki"
This one is a bit complicated. At first the reference is to a popular porn star known as Mandingo for having a freakishly large...you know. She is playing off of the stereotype that black men have large penises, and seemingly praising this black man by rewarding him for his desirable physique with traditional African clothing. HOWEVER, if one takes a few seconds to research the original movie "Mandingo," one would discover that this movie has strong themes of slave rape, over-sexualization of Africans who were forced to breed like animals and prohibition of race mixing. "the use of "a Mandingo" being a fine slave for breeding in the film" Not exactly the best analogy Nicki, because once again, it can be interpreted as you portraying yourself as an outsider to the black community.
4. INCLUSION OF LATE CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE MALCOLM X IN HER ALBUM COVER:
THE HYPOCRISY and blatant belittlement of strides made by Malcom X certainly raised controversy when Minaj made the choice to pair her ignorantly titled single "Lookin ass nigga" with a powerful photo of Malcolm X who fought tirelessly to demand respect for the black community. This decision was hardly unmentioned, in fact, Malcolm's daughter Ilyasah Shabazz confronted Minaj who allegedly offered a half-hearted apology to Malcom's estate for the use of the picture along with a weak defense of using the word "nigga." Minaj also proceeded to call out Shabazz with a quick jab on her latest feature, "Chi-raq" where she says the following:
"Malcolm X daughter came at me/lookin’ ass ni**as ain’t happy"
All I can do is shake my head for the lesson apparently not learned.
^This blatant idiocy is a prime example of a young black female replacing a black hero who fought for racial equality, with the artificial success of the rap mogul. Sad, but real.
In summation, I want to clarify that I am not a Nicki Minaj hater. There are honestly many positives to her influences on young girls, but I write this blog to say Nicki you need to be more conscious of the messages you are sending your audience about black people!! You may be a proponent of overcoming the struggle, but don't forget who you are and where you came from. Ignorance is no excuse to reinforce pigmentation, bigotry and low-self esteem because these little girls want to do everything you do, look like you, say what you say and ultimately be just like you. Use your influence to make little girls proud to be who they already are and support one another.
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