ABSTRACT: Title of Dissertation: BROWNGIRL NARRATIVES: EXPLORING COMING OF AGE IN THE GOLDEN ERA OF HIP HOP (1986-1996) Melissa Kim Chae Reddy, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Dissertation Directed By: Associate Professor Psyche Williams-Forson Department of American Studies “Browngirl Narratives” seeks to gain a clearer understanding of what we can learn from the textual evidence about the experiences of browngirls who came of age during the post-civil rights Golden Age of Hip Hop (1986-1996) by examining the contemporary literature, film, social media and music produced by and about these black women. It is an inquiry into the ways in which browngirls who came of age in the United States1 negotiate the dominant scripts that exist in their lives––literature, music, film, television and the Internet––to create and craft their own stories. The aim here is to utilize an interdisciplinary, black female-centered framework to fully problematize phenomena such as self-creation, empowerment, and sexual exploration in the lives of black women who came of age during the approximate ten year period of 1986-196. This study is an examination of black female bidungsromane–– black female cultural texts which illustrate the coming of age and/or development processes. Additionally it is an investigation into what we can learn about the ongoing 1! The United States and its territories such as Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. individuation processes for post-civil rights browngirls by engaging texts produced by and about these women. “Browngirl Narratives,” examines various literary, visual and aural texts by and/or about women of African descent that explore coming of age in the lives of browngirls who came of age in Golden Era. This project will show you pieces of their narrative by carefully examining the hidden scripts amongst Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, for colored girls who have considered suicide| when the rainbow is enuf; Tyler Perry’s feature film adaptation, For Colored Girls and the dialogue which surfaced as a result; the life, work and political consciousness of musical artist Erykah Badu, and; social media texts such as blogs and online commentary. The selected narrative texts about browngirls can be unpacked and analyzed using the bildungsroman as a lens with which to view concepts of self- discovery—“tracing the development of complex and multidimensional” browngirls, exploring “who she is and how she became that way.” This study seeks to understand what these stories reveal about the journey toward a self-defined identity for browngirls marginalized by race, gender, class and sexuality coming of age in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. What can the cultural texts tell us about how their experiences growing up during this particular period of time shape their sense of love relationships, family, community, and the self? How are concepts like black female resistance and black female empowerment negotiated in the lives of black women of the Hip Hop generation? The research discloses important overlooked narratives—“meaningful and endearing stories about their experiences that are not solely focused on heterosexual romance”—in addition to hidden transcripts or subtexts that reveal important phenomena for this particular group of women in terms of identity construction, black female representation and sexuality. BROWNGIRL NARRATIVES: EXPLORING COMING OF AGE IN THE GOLDEN ERA OF HIP HOP by Melissa Kim Chae Reddy Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philospohy 2013 Advisory Committee: Associate Professor, Psyche Williams-Forson, Chair Associate Professor Elsa Barkley Brown Associate Professor John L. Caughey Associate Professor Mary Corbin Sies Assistant Professor Jeffrey McCune Everybody wanna try to box me in Suffocating every time it locks me in Paint their own pictures then they crop me in But I will remain where the top begins Cause I am not a word, I am not a line I am not a girl that can ever be defined I am not fly, I am levitation I represent an entire generation ––”Fly,” NIKKI MINAJ ii In memory of Eleanor Schimberg Leona & Joseph A. Buechler Marie & George Jacoby Dr. Clyde Woods Whitney Houston . who moved to the end of her own rainbow. Dedicated to “The Brownboy Superhereos,” Sharkboy E & Cowboy Ninja A . never stop believing in your super powers. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The gratitude I feel to be here in this place of completion is immense. Whether it be watch my kids, cooking a meal so I could write, taking & sharing my survey or words of encouragement when I needed them most, so many people have contributed to my success. My exceptional dissertation committee worked with me in a way that both inspired me & allowed me agency over what this project would become. As a result, my dissertation is an extension of my own self-creation. Dr. Williams-Forson . you are the best sort of mentor! You have been such a positive inspiration through this whole process. Thank you for believing in me as a scholar. I would have never started, much less finished this dissertation without your motivation and vision. Thank you for believing in me strongly, advocating for me fiercely & encouraging me often. Dr. Caughey. Thank you for teaching me how to find my inner storyteller. Dr. Sies . I’m fascinated by your methods & I thoroughly enjoyed working with you. You taught me how to make meaningful connections. I owe my doctoral career to you for so many reasons. Thank you for helping me find my way. Dr. Barkley Brown . Ever since I read your work in undergrad, I knew I wanted to work with you. You are one of the reasons I applied to Maryland. As your student, you pushed me to think deeper, further & make more complex connections. There was a day in class you posed a question and no one responded. So we just sat there in what felt like the most awkward and uncomfortable silence. After some time had passed you simply iv stated, “I’m not afraid of the silences,” and we continued to sit there until someone found something insightful to say. You taught me to use the silence rather than trying to fill it. Powerful. Thank you for living up to all the hype! Dr. Pough . First, thank you for saying “yes!” when I asked you to be on my committee. You blew my expectations out of the water! Your commitment to supporting sister scholars is genuine & so refreshing. Thank you for freely sharing your time, insight and friendship. Your works inspires mine! I’m bummed we weren’t able to make it official but I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with you & the great dialogue around my chapter on Erykah Badu! Jeffery McCune . literally a lifesaver! You came on in the 25th hour and without you this show would not have been seen! Thank you for stepping up. I would also like to thank Bonnie Thornton Dill and the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity and the American Studies Department at the University of Maryland-College Park for seeing promise in me and awarding me a five-year CrISP Fellowship which funded the majority of my time at Maryland. To my crew, with whom I’ve created the best kind of Browngirl Narrative––Joya, Leondra, Pia, Erika, Tuerè & Maya––THANK YOU! Dr. Joya Gibson a.k.a. My Bestie, I can’t believe we did it! TWIN POWERS . ACTIVATE! You paved the way and showed me I could get it done, thank you, Sis. I love you lots! Leondra, for being the best friend always & the BESTest hostess whenever I’m in town. I love you, girl! Pia, for all your insight on The Five Percent Nation and all the real talk. Smooches! Tuerè, for watching my kids and feeding me yummy Thai food. Hugs! Maya, for watching my v kids & caring for them like your own, feeding us & cheering me on. Besos! My sister in the struggle(s), Erika, for your superb editing qualities, witty sense of humor and extremely marketable talent to keep it real . ALL of the time! Shaun Gittens, thank you for all of your sage advice, Bianca Laureano you are an invaluable resource & an example of what truly women-centered collaboration looks like. Thank you Tremayne Carr, Dry Ryan & Jason Nichols for sharing your love & knowledge of hip hop. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction more than once, Ryan Shanahan. To all the women who took my online survey and passed it along, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! This dissertation could have never happened without your participation. Mom & Dad–– Thank you for your love & forever support. I’m here because you supported me, never stifled my free-spirit, let me be outrageous, promoted (and funded) my creativity . and prayed really hard for me. I love you! Ellen–– I have a mother-in-law with a Browngirl narrative of her own. How I love to hear her stories, knowing many of the experiences are shared across generations; just different times and different places. I appreciate your valuable perspective on life and being a black woman, mother, sister, and daughter. Thank you for the many great conversations that fueled my research & all the hours spent giving me breaks (taking the boys!) when I needed them most. vi Jacalyn–– I will be ever-grateful for the way you stepped in and helped out so many times without being asked––flights from Denver to California to watch the boys so I could write, proofing my chapters, source checking, formatting, etc.