Black Masculinity and Hip-Hop Music: Black Gay Men Who Rap

by Xinling Li

Overview

This book offers an interdisciplinary study of hip-hop music written and performed by rappers who happen to be out black gay men. It examines the storytelling mechanisms of gay themed lyrics, and how these form protests and become enabling tools for (black) gay men to discuss issues such as living on the down-low and HIV/AIDS. It considers how the biased promotion of feminised gay male artists/characters in mainstream entertainment industry has rendered masculinity an exclusively male heterosexual property, providing a representational framework for men to identify with a form of “homosexual masculinity” – one that is constructed without having to either victimise anything feminine or necessarily convert to femininity. The book makes a strong case that it is possible for individuals (like gay rappers) to perform masculinity against masculinity, and open up a new way of striving for gender equality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811335129
Publisher:	Springer Nature Singapore
Publication date:	12/07/2018
Edition description:	1st ed. 2019
Pages:	179
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

XinLing Li is Associate Professor at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction.- Black Masculinity, Homosexuality and Hip-Hop Music.- The Commoditisation of Hip-Hop Music and Queerness.- Revelations from Black Gay Men Who Rap.- Facing Challenges.- Homosexual Masculinity.- Conclusion.