Black Female Sexuality as a Commodity: "Gold Digger"

In her essay, “Selling Hot Pussy,” bell hooks asserts that “popular culture provides coutless examples of black female appropriation and exploitation of ‘negative stereotypes’” (65). I feel that this is definitely true in the popular music industry, with black female artists exploiting their own sexualities and male artists (black and white) exploiting black female sexualities to “reap the benefits” of such stereotypes (65).

Immediately, the music video for Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” comes into mind. In the video, it exposes female sexualities as a commodity. In the video, there are only black females, wearing lingerie and moving sexuality, with “emphasis on [their] butts” (64). I think the whole song makes a commentary of how black female sexuality is solely used for “sexual service for money and power, [where] pleasure is secondary” (69).

Here is the video: