Oneka LaBennett
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814752470
- eISBN:
- 9780814765289
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814752470.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
This introductory chapter maps out the variegated context that informs the youth culture of Black youth, especially that of adolescent West Indian girls. Racialized stereotypes and constructions of ...
More
This introductory chapter maps out the variegated context that informs the youth culture of Black youth, especially that of adolescent West Indian girls. Racialized stereotypes and constructions of these youths' lives remain pervasive in mainstream media; in response, they have found ways to claim public spaces and perform authenticity in defiance of what mainstream culture has perceived as “real.” As they navigate these boundaries, youth of color are often misunderstood, viewed as criminals, or rendered invisible. Their presence in New York's public spaces is regarded alternatively as a nuisance and as an entertaining oddity. They are avoided, pitied, or exoticized. They are either exploited pawns or crafty entrepreneurs. But these urban minority youth are also negotiating the spheres of labor, leisure, and consumption to turn a profit and to demand the attention of a public that rarely engages with them.Less
This introductory chapter maps out the variegated context that informs the youth culture of Black youth, especially that of adolescent West Indian girls. Racialized stereotypes and constructions of these youths' lives remain pervasive in mainstream media; in response, they have found ways to claim public spaces and perform authenticity in defiance of what mainstream culture has perceived as “real.” As they navigate these boundaries, youth of color are often misunderstood, viewed as criminals, or rendered invisible. Their presence in New York's public spaces is regarded alternatively as a nuisance and as an entertaining oddity. They are avoided, pitied, or exoticized. They are either exploited pawns or crafty entrepreneurs. But these urban minority youth are also negotiating the spheres of labor, leisure, and consumption to turn a profit and to demand the attention of a public that rarely engages with them.
Oneka LaBennett
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814752470
- eISBN:
- 9780814765289
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814752470.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
This concluding chapter connects the insights of the previous chapters, emphasizing the linkages that tie together spatialized definitions of race and gender, the concept of “authenticity,” and the ...
More
This concluding chapter connects the insights of the previous chapters, emphasizing the linkages that tie together spatialized definitions of race and gender, the concept of “authenticity,” and the creation of transnational, youthful West Indian subjectivities. It considers how West Indian notions of success are gendered and generational, and reflects on the degree to which West Indian girls' bold critiques and strategic identity assertions translate into real-life opportunities for social empowerment and economic success in the shadow of a museum threatened by economic restructuring and gentrification. In the end, these young women will face choices, both grim and hopeful, as they transition into womanhood and into becoming Americans.Less
This concluding chapter connects the insights of the previous chapters, emphasizing the linkages that tie together spatialized definitions of race and gender, the concept of “authenticity,” and the creation of transnational, youthful West Indian subjectivities. It considers how West Indian notions of success are gendered and generational, and reflects on the degree to which West Indian girls' bold critiques and strategic identity assertions translate into real-life opportunities for social empowerment and economic success in the shadow of a museum threatened by economic restructuring and gentrification. In the end, these young women will face choices, both grim and hopeful, as they transition into womanhood and into becoming Americans.
Oneka LaBennett
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814752470
- eISBN:
- 9780814765289
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814752470.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
Overwhelmingly, Black teenage girls are negatively represented in national and global popular discourses, either as being “at risk” for teenage pregnancy, obesity, or sexually transmitted diseases, ...
More
Overwhelmingly, Black teenage girls are negatively represented in national and global popular discourses, either as being “at risk” for teenage pregnancy, obesity, or sexually transmitted diseases, or as helpless victims of inner city poverty and violence. Such popular representations are pervasive and often portray Black adolescents' consumer and leisure culture as corruptive, uncivilized, and pathological. This book draws on over a decade of researching teenage West Indian girls in the Flatbush and Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn to argue that Black youth are in fact strategic consumers of popular culture and through this consumption they assert far more agency in defining race, ethnicity, and gender than academic and popular discourses tend to acknowledge. Importantly, the book also studies West Indian girls' consumer and leisure culture within public spaces in order to analyze how teens are marginalized and policed as they attempt to carve out places for themselves within New York's contested terrains.Less
Overwhelmingly, Black teenage girls are negatively represented in national and global popular discourses, either as being “at risk” for teenage pregnancy, obesity, or sexually transmitted diseases, or as helpless victims of inner city poverty and violence. Such popular representations are pervasive and often portray Black adolescents' consumer and leisure culture as corruptive, uncivilized, and pathological. This book draws on over a decade of researching teenage West Indian girls in the Flatbush and Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn to argue that Black youth are in fact strategic consumers of popular culture and through this consumption they assert far more agency in defining race, ethnicity, and gender than academic and popular discourses tend to acknowledge. Importantly, the book also studies West Indian girls' consumer and leisure culture within public spaces in order to analyze how teens are marginalized and policed as they attempt to carve out places for themselves within New York's contested terrains.
