Gender Constructs in Afrofuturism - Podcast

Podcast 

Kenijah Ross 

Gender Constructs in Afrofuturism 

My podcast will explore the evolution of gender roles in the black community, examining how

they have changed over time and how Afrofuturism has aided this change. To understand the evolution

the first thing we talk about is pre-colonial Africa and how in their traditional way of living, gender roles

were more fluid and less binary than the Western norms that they later had to become accustomed to.

The dehumanization of black people during slavery and in its aftermath set the tone for continued

gender struggles within the community. Under Jim Crow, black women were often seen as “mammies”,

and were fully expected to take care and raise white babies, while also taking care of their own kids,

with all the pressure of financial and social instability. Black men struggled to find their footing in the

world, as they were often put in a box of being the angry and violent black man. The Civil Rights and

Black Power movements were pivotal steps in reshaping the way the world viewed black people. Family

structures evolved and the traditional nuclear family was no longer the norm in the black community.

The rise of black queer families also came as a result of these political movements. Artists like Kendrick

Lamar, Sun Ra, and Janelle Monae, have continued to do the work of dismantling the binary gender

system. They have blurred the lines between masculinity and femininity and what it means to be both.

Movies like Black Panther have also done amazing work in reshaping what traditional gender roles are

and what they can look like. The movement also influenced fashion, with designers featuring men in

dresses and skirts, and showing women in tuxedos and long pants suits, reimagining what genders can

wear what clothes, and also expressing complete gender neutrality in some pieces, allowing for further

self-expression. Finally, Afrofuturism and intersectionality offer a type of liberation that allows black

people to embrace all the elements of their identities without being defined by social expectations. The

movement allows for reimagining blackness that goes beyond historical contexts and the trauma and

oppression brought by it. With Afrofuturism, black people have continued to break themselves free of

the shackles and create space for fluidity and freedom.


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