“When They Dress Like That:” Early Adolescent Black Girls Discuss the Portrayal of Women in Hip Hop and R&B

Abstract Hip hop and R&B, the most popular music genres among young Black Americans, often contain anti-Black woman messages, perpetuating negative, hypersexual stereotypes. Within adult-facilitated, peer-based sessions, 22 early adolescent Black girls (5th–7th grades) described their perceptions of how Black women are represented in hip hop and R&B. Through intersectional heuristic and constructivist thematic analysis, we identified themes among their discussions and illustrations, where they recognized and rejected a common script within music in which Black women are portrayed as trading their bodies for money, yet showed a strong dislike for Nicki Minaj’s sexual expression. Situated within the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory, Black feminist thought, and an age-appropriate pro-sex framework, this group of Black girls struggled to adopt a single viewpoint on if and how Black women should express their sexuality. Future interventions should focus on supporting Black girls’ critical race media literacy through age-appropriate approaches.