"Why Black Sexual Politics?"

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how, in her essay, "Why Black Sexual Politics", Patricia Hill Colins analyzes portrayals of black sexuality in the white-dominated media and in a white-dominated culture. The paper discusses how Collins argues that black bodies and black sexuality have been appropriated and manipulated by the dominant culture to perpetuate cycles of oppression and how this oppression does not end with racism but extends through to gender-based oppression, heterosexism, and class inequities.

From the Paper:

"Collins shows how and why black sexuality continues to be presented as deviant, as wild, animalistic, primitive, and savage. When racism was overt, black sexuality was directly associated with animal perversion. Racism has gone underground in a sense; racism is now color-blind but continues to dictate ways black sexuality is portrayed in the mainstream media. Collins uses Beyonce, Destiny's Child, and Jennifer Lopez of icons of the new black sexuality and therefore, of the new racism. These artists and others like them have profited from the myth of black sexuality, capitalizing ironically on the new racism. Black sexuality is, however, an "invented discourse," notes Collins (p. 28). White media moguls and politicians have invented and wielded the discourse to maintain a position of domination and authority in society."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Collins, Patricia Hill. "Why Black Sexual Politics?"

More papers on "Why Black Sexual Politics?":

• Term Paper # 96617 : "Sexual Politics in Film"
• Comparison Essay # 101383 : "Drama: Love, Marriage and Sexual Politics"
• Analytical Essay # 35712 : " "Why Americans Hate Politics"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: