Branding Black Womanhood
182 pages, 6 x 9
12 b&w images
Paperback
Release Date:17 Jun 2022
ISBN:9781978829909
Hardcover
Release Date:17 Jun 2022
ISBN:9781978829916
Branding Black Womanhood
Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic
Rutgers University Press
CaShawn Thompson crafted Black Girls Are Magic as a proclamation of Black women’s resilience in 2013. Less than five years later, it had been repurposed as a gateway to an attractive niche market. Branding Black Womanhood: Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic examines the commercial infrastructure that absorbed Thompson’s mantra. While the terminology may have changed over the years, mainstream brands and mass media companies have consistently sought to acknowledge Black women’s possession of a distinct magic or power when it suits their profit agendas.
Beginning with the inception of the Essence brand in the late 1960s, Timeka N. Tounsel examines the individuals and institutions that have reconfigured Black women’s empowerment as a business enterprise. Ultimately, these commercial gatekeepers have constructed an image economy that operates as both a sacred space for Black women and an easy hunting ground for their dollars.
Beginning with the inception of the Essence brand in the late 1960s, Timeka N. Tounsel examines the individuals and institutions that have reconfigured Black women’s empowerment as a business enterprise. Ultimately, these commercial gatekeepers have constructed an image economy that operates as both a sacred space for Black women and an easy hunting ground for their dollars.
Branding Black Womanhood unearths the untold histories of the now-ubiquitous, commercial concept of 'Black Girl Magic.' With clear and compelling prose, Timeka Tounsel thoughtfully tells the story of how representations of Black women as 'magic' both provides Black women with empowerment and delivers a sparkly image that can seriously undercut Black women’s need for care.
TIMEKA N. TOUNSEL is an assistant professor of African American studies and media studies at Pennsylvania State University.
Prologue
Introduction: Black Women and the Twenty-First Century Image Economy
Chapter 1: The Black Woman that Essence Built
Chapter 2: Self-Branding Black Womanhood: The Magic of Susan L. Taylor
Chapter 3: Marketing Dignity: The Commercial Grammar of Black Female Empowerment
Chapter 4: Beyond Magic: Black Women Content Creators and Productive Vulnerability
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Introduction: Black Women and the Twenty-First Century Image Economy
Chapter 1: The Black Woman that Essence Built
Chapter 2: Self-Branding Black Womanhood: The Magic of Susan L. Taylor
Chapter 3: Marketing Dignity: The Commercial Grammar of Black Female Empowerment
Chapter 4: Beyond Magic: Black Women Content Creators and Productive Vulnerability
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Related Titles
Watching While Black Rebooted!
The Television and Digitality of Black Audiences
Edited by Beretta E. Smith-Shomade; Foreword by Herman S. Gray
