Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower

Black respectability is the idea that if Black people behave with perfect decorum, overachieve, and discipline their bodies to conform to those of members of the dominant culture, they will achieve equality and avoid the worst aspects of racism, sexism, and class inequality. Dr. Brittney Cooper debunks this notion many times. Black respectability encourages Black women to mute their anger and avoid sexual pleasure outside of marriage, moves that diminish important sources of power and health. Black respectability also informs dangerous and damaging tropes such as the Angry Black Woman and the Black woman as inherently promiscuous. Black respectability obscures how significant an impact structural, systemic forces have on what look like individual choices. Cooper encourages Black women to embrace rage and disruption if they hope to change the status quo.

Crunk may be a portmanteau (blending of two words) word from “crazy” and “drunk.” Crunk music is a raucous, loud, bass-heavy form of Southern Hip Hop that embraces defiance and disruption as central to Black self-representation. Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, and David Banner are important crunk musicians. Cooper identifies herself as a crunk feminist because Hip Hop fundamentally shapes her perspective on identity, race, sex, gender, and Black respectability.