I attended the Hip Hop Queer Aesthetics in NYC with Shante Paradigm Smalls, at the CUNY Graduate Center. I chose the event because when I think of hip-hop, queer aesthetics is not what comes to mind. Hip hop culture is often misogynist and homophobic, so I wanted to see how queerness and hip-hop intertwined with each other.
The discussion began with Smalls speaking about controversial figures like Bambada, R. Kelly, and Bill Cosby and how these men used their power to fulfill their sexual desires without the consent from the women who were involved. Smalls then mentions how the systemic patriarchy and sexual desire effect hip hop culture. However, Smalls moves on and begins to discuss New York City and the different movements that were occurring during the late 1970s and 1980s. For example, punk music, hip-hop music, and house music emerging and colliding throughout the 70s and 80s. She emphasizes the importance of the collision of these three different genres because it created this idealistic perspective of reinvention during a period of an economic crisis that many people were experiencing while living in New York City.…show more content… The film is a parodies of a black young man, Leroy Green living in New York City. Leroy loves Bruce Lee and often fantasizes about Chinese culture. The opening sequence shows Leroy practicing martial arts. There are close-ups of his chest, arms, and muscles. It emphasizes the male physique, but emphasizes the body in a very feminine way. Leroy's moves are graceful and shows the fluidity of each of his movements.Leroy's fashion and choice of clothing is also influenced by Chinese culture and shows that Leroy does not identify with black masculinity. Although Leroy does not depict the typical black male, the film also creates an atmosphere where he is not judged for being a black man who does not identify with black
