Natasha R. Howard

This project has three parts. Guided by Black feminist thought and Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s “Social Construction of Reality,” the first part examines the thematic content and sexual scripts of the music videos of Black female rappers. The second part of the project uses invitational rhetoric theory to analyze the song lyrics of the same Black female rappers. Finally, the third part of the project involves examining the possible influences of these videos on young Black women, aged 18 to 30, in terms of their self-concept and relationship ideals. Ultimately, this project shows how popular culture and media inform many of the ideas and conversations that circulate in today’s society. In addition, this research can be used as a prompt to get students to think more critically about the music and videos they consume to interrogate their themes, scripts, and lyrical content.