Jezebel and Sapphire: Thee Original Fun Girls
Dressed to the nines, look at your homegirl laughing, hands in the air, having a good time. Smiles ear to ear, in a boisterous mood, making amusement out of this life. Outside the stalls, other women deflate any insecurity that may linger through tipsy, genuine compliments— because drunk minds speak sober thoughts. Girls just want to have fun. But, not too much, for no one wants to be the fun girl, or the bitch. No, they don’t become thee girl. They don’t meet the parents. They don’t get the ring. Through analysis of musical selections, “Fun Girl” by Summer Walker and “B.I.T.C.H.” by Megan Thee Stallion, the social construction of gender and culture within the Black community will explore centralizing themes of double standards, love, and sexuality.
Summer Walker and Megan Thee Stallion are young female artists popularized in areas of R&B and Rap. They have notable influence within the Black community and have prominent voices in their genre. Summer Walker is known for her vulnerable and angelic tone; she sings about love, womanhood, and her experiences with each. Megan Thee Stallion is recognized for her strong voice of confidence, sensuality, and explicit lyrics. Each artist provides perspective of the Black woman’s experience navigating self, relationship, and identity while making social commentary on prominent issues that occur.
Many of the themes addressed further include issues derived from representations of Black women that originated during the enslavement period. This includes stereotypes like the Jezebel and Sapphire trope. These tropes were created to justify the sexual politics of enslavement. The Jezebel “ was depicted as a Black woman with an insatiable appetite for sex… and the perpetuation of the Jezebel image contributes to the sexual exploitation of Black women”(Warren). The characterization of Black women as inherently seductive, promiscuous, and sexually irresponsible has developed a hypersexual consumption towards Black women. The obsession surrounding Black women’s sexuality has become limiting to their sexual expression in aid to respectability politics as, “The politics of respectability framework required Black women to refrain from presenting themselves in an overtly sexual manner to distance themselves from dominant cultural narratives that stigmatize their sexuality”(Leath”). In contrast, the Sapphire trope depicts Black women to be overly aggressive, hostile, threatening, and argumentative. Due to the “societal expectations [that] discourage displays of anger, and often appropriately assertive behavior by underrepresented minorities (West),” the evolution of Black women’s identity include the Angry Black Woman stereotype. This limits the emotional vulnerability dispensable to Black women. The social construction of these tropes have defined gender and culture within the Black community— developing around themes of double standards, love, and sexuality.
When the Jezebel trope is extended to the context of the song “Fun girl”, it is evident that the assigned traits are projected onto Black women. A “fun girl” is the type of woman that is not to be taken seriously for dating, typically used for fantasy and pleasure. The fun girl is not for the intentions of marriage, she is used for gratification. The song is a response to being treated as a “fun girl”. Walker states, “ Remember what you told me/ Said I wasn't made right /Said I wasn't cut right/ That's why I'm so lonely, mm /Can't turn a ho into a housewife/ That I was just a homie, a fun girl”. Reminiscing upon what a man had told her, she reviews his beliefs that women need to have redeemable traits to be worthy of marriage and suggests that sexual activity limits desirability— women whom don’t present these domestic values are subjugated to a less than romantic relationship that is sexual in nature. This reflects the sentiments associated with the Jezebel trope, “ …hypersexualized, and using men for sex rather than companionship”(de Laat). Black women are valued as extended objects of those they have sexual relationships with, hence their worth ‘going down’ when known to be promiscuous.
It is apparent that Black women are impacted by the Sapphire trope when context is extended to the song “B.I.T.C.H”. The term ‘bitch’ is a derogatory term for women that are thought to be difficult, spiteful, and overbearing (Fita). In the song, Megan utilizes ‘bitch’ in multiple semantics: “that bitch”, “your bitch”, and “another bitch”— each with different connotations. “That bitch” is a double homonym that implies: a negative determinable identifier of another woman OR a positive reclamation of assertive feminine power. When “your bitch” is referenced, it signifies a possessive property of being someone’s significant other. Meanwhile, “another bitch” is signified as an offensive identifier for comparing women. In the song, Megan uses each connotation to confront various perspectives of the word. She claims, “I’d rather be your B.I.T.C.H, cuz that’s what you gonna call me when you tripping anyway” through an ironic tone. Here Megan is reclaiming ‘bitch’ to denote feminine power, by exploiting misogynistic stereotypes that are projected onto women. When evaluating the intention of ‘bitch’ for its derogatory indications, it is evident that, like the Sapphire trope, both represent women to be argumentative and aggressive for upholding power.
Although Summer Walker and Megan Thee Stallion appear to participate and identify with the gendered tropes, they employ satirical evidence to propose the contribution of patriarchal ideals and how that assists in double standards. Both songs are titled as the offensive tropes projected onto them, “fun girl and “bitch”. This is done to personify the role to make commentary from each perspective. It is an attempt to ridicule the attributions and expectations placed on their roles. In the song “ Fun Girl” Summer recites, “ I dont understand it/ Takes me out the category of marriage/ cuz I know what I want just like you/ cuz I make my own my money and my own rules/ Love who I want and fuck who I choose to”. Here Summer is making an observation to the double standards that exist by comparing her behavior to that of the man she is talking to, in efforts to display their behavior being the same. The lyrics follow with, “ But I guess that makes me undesirable/ Guess that makes you so attractive/ Guess that makes me undesirable/ Guess that makes you so attractive/ Life’s unfair, life’s unfair, life’s unfair/ Life’s so unfair”. Summer is criticizing the inequity of the standards expected of her through the repetition of lyrics. She is identifying that despite participating in the same behaviors, she is perceived to be undesirable while the man is thought to be attractive. Conversely, in the song “B.I.T.C.H” Megan orates “ A real hot girl know how to keep a nigga heated/ You say you want respect, well, treat me how you wanna be treated/ You told me keep it real, but you don't practice what you preachin”. By suggesting she does not give respect because it is not reciprocated, Megan is declaring that she behaves in the way she does in response to how she is treated. It appears here that the man wants women to act accordingly, though his actions do not indicate mutual respect. This is an assessment of the double standards placed on women to treat men with dignity, but not receive virtuous treatment in return. In each song, the artists are rejecting the enforcement of gender roles to uphold boundaries for what they desire in relationships.
Relationships in the Black community have a historic racial patriarchy that defines roles for men and women. These tropes have been reconstructed to advise Black people to adhere to respectability politics. “These canons included patriarchal views of domesticity, sexual restraint, hard work, and cleanliness associated with views of ‘true womanhood’”(Christopher-Byrd). This messaging can be found in modern media including: songs, movies, and literature. “Relationship-advice authors such as Steve Harvey, author of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment… focus on providing “guidance” to women by encouraging them to change their behavior to obtain or maintain a relationship. [This demonstrates] the perpetuation of hegemonic notions of masculinity…”(Chrisopher-Byrd). By encouraging the success of relationships to center patriarchal norms, it sustains a hierarchy that discludes the development and equality of Black women. When women are penalized for their power, it is reflected through the dismissal of securing a husband. “Therefore, if a woman can handle a man’s ego… she is worthy of long-term heterosexual relationship…. These constraints construct gender norms for women that are rigid and ultimately insufficient” (Christopher -Byrd). The standard against women is prioritizing worthiness in marriageability. Thus, defining marriage to be used as gendered symbolic capital and status.
It is important that the traditions and expectations that are adopted are evaluated to contextualize origin and necessity. There is no need to continue exemplifying racist tropes as a standard of behavior. The exploration of the social construction of gender and culture within the Black community assists to accentuate themes of double standards in love and sexuality. “Fun Girl” by Summer Walker and “B.I.T.C.H.” by Megan The Stallion provides a satirical anecdote to a familiar experience Black women are met with. As these conversations are identified, they will provide greater opportunity to traverse the inequities that exist within gender.
Work Cited
de Laat, Kim. “Singing the Romance: Gendered and Racialized Representations of Love and Postfeminism in Popular Music.” Poetics (Amsterdam), vol. 77, 2019, p. 101382–, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2019.101382.
Christopher-Byrd, Emerald L.. “Still Unmarried: Black Women and Relationship Advice Literature.” Women, Gender, and Families of Color, vol. 7, no. 2, 2019, pp. 182–201, https://doi.org/10.5406/womgenfamcol.7.2.0182.
Fita, Jennifer. “Reclaiming the Power of the Word Bitch.” Swaay, 24 Sept. 2020, https://swaay.com/reclaiming-power-bitch.
Leath, Seanna, et al. “A Qualitative Exploration of Jezebel Stereotype Endorsement and Sexual Behaviors Among Black College Women.” Journal of Black Psychology, vol. 47, no. 4-5, 2021, pp. 244–83, https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798421997215.
Warren-Gordon, Kiesha, and Deborah Mencias McMillan. “Analysis of Black Female Belizean Stereotypes in Visual Media: Jezebel, Mammy, Sapphire, and Their Contributions to Violence Against Women.” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 23, no. 1, 2022, pp. COV1–15.
West, Carolyn M. “Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel: Historical Images of Black Women and Their Implications for Psychotherapy.” Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.), vol. 32, no. 3, 1995, pp. 458–66, https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.32.3.458.
