Body as Evidence: Mediating Race, Globalizing Gender

222 Pages·2012·13.37 MB·English

by  Janell Hobson

Body
as
EvidEncE

Body
as
EvidEncE
Mediating Race, Globalizing Gender
JanEll HoBson
cover art is a production still from the film by ayoka chenzira
Her
Published by state University of new york Press, albany
© 2012 state University of new york
all rights reserved
Printed in the United states of america
no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission. no part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic
tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission
in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact state University of new york Press, albany, ny
www.sunypress.edu
Production by Ryan Morris
Marketing by Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hobson, Janell, 1973–
Body as evidence: mediating race, globalizing gender / Janell Hobson.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978‑1‑4384‑4400‑0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isBn 978‑1‑4384‑4401‑7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Human body—social aspects. 2. Women in popular culture. 3. Popular culture
and globalization. 4. Feminism and mass media. 5. Ethnicity on television.
i. Title.
HM636.H63 2012
306.4’7—dc23 2011047987
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To bell hooks who showed the way
and to my students who will carry the light

contents
list of illustrations ix
acknowledgments xi
Prelude: Haiku 1
introduction 3
PaRT i
TExT MEssagEs
chapter 1
Pop goes democracy: Mediating Race, gender, and
nation on 21
American Idol
chapter 2
Understanding “The new Black”: destabilizing Blackness
in the new Millennium 43
chapter 3
Body as Evidence: The Facts of Blackness, the Fictions of
Whiteness 65
interlude: Hip‑Hop Hegemony 87
PaRT ii
gEo TRacKings
chapter 4
digital Whiteness, Primitive Blackness: Racializing the
“digital divide” 93
viii Contents
chapter 5
digital divas strike Back: digital cultures and Feminist Futures 115
chapter 6
Exotic sisterhood: The limits and Possibilities of global Feminism 139
Epilogue
Widening our lens on the World 163
Postlude: Technologies of the Flesh 177
notes 179
References 185
index 197
Illustrations
Figure I.1
“Nation Cover.” Reprinted with permission from the February 2,
2009, issue of magazine. For subscription information,
The Nation
call 1‑800‑333‑8536. Portions of each week’s magazine can
Nation
be accessed at http://www.thenation.com. 7
Figure I.2
Mario Epanya, “Vogue Africa,” 2010. Permission of the Artist. 16
Figure 4.1
Ayoka Chenzira, “CrazyQuilt Sightings,” 2007. Interactive Haptic
Cinema Production on the Digital Tabletop. Permission of
the Artist. 108
Figure 4.2
Film Still from (directed by Wanuri Kahiu, 2009). Courtesy
Pumzi
of Inspired Minority Pictures/ONE Pictures. 112
Figure 5.1
Nancy Burson, “The Human Race Machine,” 2000. Billboard
advertisement. Permission of the Artist. 124
Figure 5.2
Kara Walker, “Insurrection! (Our Tools Were Rudimentary, Yet We
Pressed On),” [detail], 2000 Cut paper and light projections on wall
12 3 74.5 feet (3.7 3 22.7 meters). Installation view: ,
Moving Pictures
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2002. Photo: Ellen
Labenski. © Kara Walker, Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co.,
New York. 125