Hip-hop lesson plan no. 2

Read “In the Name of Beauty” from Tressie McMillan Cottom’s book Thick. In the book, McMillan Cottom writes: “Beauty is a wonderful form of capital in a world that organizes everything around gender and then requires a performance of gender that makes some of its members more equal than others” (62). She continues, noting that this beauty-as-capital system excludes black women solely on the basis of race: “If beauty is to matter at all for capital, it can never be for black women” (63).

Read and discuss the ideas that McMillan Cottom puts forth in this chapter.

Then, listen to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.” How are the two songs related? In what ways do the reflect McMillan Cottom’s ideas about beauty, capital, and race? Are these songs transgressive in any way, or do they uphold the (white) status quo?

Consider also the conversations surrounding Lizzo: to what extent are these criticisms motivated not by weight, but (also?) by race?

• “Lizzo on double standard for men’s bodies vs. women’s”

• “People are debating Lizzo’s Lakers game outfit and antics”

• “What Jillian Michaels got wrong about Lizzo and body positivity”