The ways Black women navigate the intersection of music, performance, and labor, all while dealing with the emotional and relational demands placed on them is complex. Black women rappers, in particular, are often at the crossroads of artistic expression and societal expectations. These women, who have gained significant social media followings, are also navigating platforms like OnlyFans, where they create sexually explicit content for a subscription-based audience.

In this episode, Dr. Jabari Evans-, an Assistant Professor of Race and Media at the University of South Carolina, takes us through the complex ideological tensions Black women face within a genre often steeped in racial stereotypes. Author of "Drill Rap, Sex Work, and the Digital Underground: (Clout)Chasing on Chicago’s Southside", Dr. Evans' research explores strategies youth use for self-expression on social media platforms as well as other digital media tools and technologies.

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Wendi Williams, Barbara “B.” Smith, and Rosa Parks- these are some Black women who publicly faced their experiences with cognitive decline. This is not surprising as women- no matter race or ethnicity- are twice as likely to develop dementia than men. And Black individuals are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop dementia than white individuals. This places Black women at a critical intersection of vulnerability. This episode features Dr. Tanisha Hill-Jarrett, PhD, discussing the intersecting factors shaping Black women's cognitive decline. A neuropsychologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center, her research applies intersectionality theory to understand how psychosocial stressors and structural racism and sexism impact Black women’s cognitive aging and confer risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

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In recent years, Black women have become increasingly visible in the world of strip clubs, with mainstream media and celebrity culture contributing to a shift in perception. Shows like P-Valley and high-profile figures like Cardi B, Nene Leakes, and Azealia Banks have brought the lives of Black dancers into the spotlight, portraying them as empowered, savvy businesswomen who take ownership of their bodies and their labor.

But beneath the surface of this newfound visibility lies a complex reality where race, sexual stereotypes, and commodification continue to shape the often inequitable experiences of Black and other women of color dancers in these “desire industries”. From wage gaps to violence, to the ways that dancers are pigeonholed into specific roles based on their racialized erotic capital, the commodification of race and desire shape the experiences of Black women across these spaces.

Unfortunately, few people have critically examined how Black women navigate, resist, and negotiate the powerful forces at play in this sex industry space. In this episode, we dive deep into Dr. Siobhan Brooks' groundbreaking research exploring the intersection of race, sexuality, and labor in strip clubs across New York City and Oakland, California. Dr. Siobhan Brooks is a Professor of African American Studies at California State University- Fullerton whose research examines Black feminism, Sex Worker Studies and Black LGBT Identity formation. She is the author of Unequal Desires: Race and Erotic Capital in the Stripping Industry (SUNY Press, 2010), and Everyday Violence against Black and Latinx LGBT Communities (Lexington Press, 2020).

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