African American Studies Commons^™

From Mammy To Madea, And Examination Of The Behaviors Of Tyler Perry's Madea Character In Relation To The Mammy, Jezebel, And Sapphire Stereotypes, Nargis Fontaine

Africana Studies Theses

African-Americans have been portrayed in stereotypical entertainment roles since their arrival into American society. Before film and television were developed, minstrel and side-shows were the source of entertainment at African-American’s expense. Minstrel shows were performed by White individuals dressed to impersonate Blacks and behaved in a White inter-pretation of Black behavior (Pieterse, 1992, pg. 134). African American women in particular were portrayed in three primary stereotypical ways: the Mammy, the Jezebel, and the Sap-phire. This research examines the relationship between the stereotypes and these historical typecasts of African-American women are relevant to Black director Tyler Perry’s popular character Mabel Simmons, …

Shakin' Exploitation: Black Female Bodies In Contemporary Hip-Hop And Pornography, Amber Walker

Honors Papers

Through a methodological framework consisting of historical analysis, pop culture analysis, and hip-hop feminist theory, this paper will explore the complex intersections of race, gender, and agency in contemporary hip-hop and adult entertainment.

The first section, "Look Back at Me: Jezebel, the Black Lady and Constructions of Black Female Sexuality Identity", will consist of a historical overview of images of Black women constructed since enslavement into the late 20th century and highlight the links between these stereotypes and the sexualized images that exist of Black female identity in contemporary hip-hop. The politics of respectability will also be discussed and how …