From Blues Women to B-Girls: Performing Badass Femininity
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2-2014
Description
This article introduces the concept of badass femininity, a marginalized femininity captured in the performances of contemporary b-girls (women breakdancers) and blues women of the 1920s. The author uses the work of Hortense Spillers, Maria Lugones, Chela Sandoval, and Angela Davis to argue that non-normative gender performances from the fringes of society are necessary consequence of histories of enslavement, genocide, and exploitation. Badass femininity is a one version of a multiplicity of femininities. It re-signifies qualities typically associated with masculinity through women whose work in dance and music move these gender performances from the margins to center stage.
Citation Information
Johnson, Imani Kai. 2014. From Blues Women to B-Girls: Performing Badass Femininity. Women and Performance. Vol.24(1). 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/0740770X.2014.902649 ISSN: 0740-770X