Since the emergence of hip-hop in the early 1980s, African American women’s sexuality and its correlation to their search for self-identity and self-control have been at the forefront of the genre’s discourse. Using a multidisciplinary theoretical framework (objectification theory, scripting theory, and Black feminist epistemologies), this article explores the fashion aesthetic, imagery, and celebrity culture of two major African American female hip-hop megastars, Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott, to examine how the sexual politics of hip-hop culture has helped to define their sexuality, agency, and subjectivity. By examining the style and professional choices that fashioned their careers in hip-hop media, we explore the extent to which they have refuted, or submitted, to the distorted view of African American female sexuality, and thus contributed to their objectification or empowerment.
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