User:Hannahrosebuc/sandbox

Article Evaluation: "Feminist Activism in Hip Hop"

Is it accurate to say that Feminist Activism in Hip Hop only includes women? Why the gender exclusivity? (referring to the first sentence of the article)

Most links to other Wikipedia pages seem to be working.

Grammatical errors: The article seems to be neutral for the most part. Its main sources of information are journals written on Hip hop feminism, and direct quotes from self-identified hip hop feminists.
 * In "Hip hop as a medium for social change" section:
 * "Rabaka explains out the way in which..."
 * In "Feminism in hip hop music" section:
 * "Female MC's and singers would base tracks based on the advancement of women."
 * "Behind Queen Latifah came hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill became the best example of hip-hop feminism..."
 * "Many have decried Beyoncé is not feminist enough."

The article's definition of Hip Hop Feminism is well done; however, there could be more up to date information added to this section.

There are several sources cited that seem to no longer exist. One of these is source #11: "Women, Feminism, and Hip Hop" on socialism.com.

The "Feminism in hip hop music" section needs work. It has a lot of information that seems to be more based in personal opinion than fact. There are also citations missing in this section.

Overall, the article seems to offer information that is relevant to the topic of feminism in hip hop; however, it is lacking in descriptions of activism specifically. It may also be beneficial to address the roles of alternative genders and sexualities within hip hop feminist activism, as well as to address the presence of lesser known producers of hip hop culture beyond those previously mentioned.

On the Talk Page there has been past discussion of merging this page with the "Hip Hop Feminism" page, and I agree with this suggestion.

Plans for edits to Hip-Hop Feminism page:

On the Hip-Hop Feminism Wikipedia page, my group is going to add a section on scholars of hip-hop feminism. We each plan to choose a different scholar, and relay their contributions to hip-hop feminism. In doing so, it is my hope that we will articulate various aspects of hip hop culture that have yet to be explored on this particular wiki page.

Plans for edits to Video Game Culture page:

I want to contribute to this page by adding a section that recognizes the presence of LGBTQ+ gamers, and how gaming creates space for socially marginalized populations. There is already a section on the page entitled "Gender Issues" that I think is lacking. I want to expand it by referencing the presence, but lack of visibility of female gamers.

Draft/Notes: Video Game Culture:


 * Women's presence in video game culture (Paaßen)
 * How women are represented in video games (hypersexualization) and how this contributes to female participation in the subculture
 * Women may feel stigmatized for participating in gaming culture (Paaßen)
 * connect to stereotype of typical gamer (geeky, asocial male)
 * results in less women self-identifying as gamers
 * contributes to overall lack of visibility of women in gaming
 * LGBTQ+ presence (Krobova)
 * gaming culture as a form of community building for marginalized communities
 * gaming allows for sexual expression and identity formation
 * how games have started to become more LGBTQ+ friendly (depiction of LGBTQ+ characters/plotlines)

Draft/Notes: Hip-Hop Feminism

Hip-Hop Feminist Scholarship

Seth Cosimini


 * focus on self-presentation
 * how Nicki Minaj toys with stereotypical representations of Black womanhood, and challenges those representations at the same time in order to construct a hip-hop identity
 * role of queer sexuality in identity construction

Murali Balaji


 * how video vixens utilize their own commodification
 * women's strategic self-presentation in hip-hop music videos allows for the subversion of objectification
 * possibility for women in hip-hop to exercise control over their own portrayals

** Plans have changed slightly-- instead of focusing on one scholar each, we are going to draw on multiple scholars, and attempt to concisely convey their main contributions to hip-hop feminism. This will hopefully display how multifaceted hip-hop feminism actually is.

Drafting for Hip-Hop Feminism Wiki Page

Hip-Hop Feminism Scholarship

Seth Cosimini's analysis of the performativity and self-presentation of Nicki Minaj articulates how women in hip-hop culture may simultaneously challenge and conform to stereotypical representations of femininity. As explained by Cosimini, Minaj uses contradictory public personas in order to construct a hip-hop identity that recognizes the social oppression driven by race, gender, and sexuality within and beyond hip-hop culture. Cosimini's contributions to hip-hop feminist scholarship have offered a unique perspective on the role of self-presentation in identity construction for women in hip-hop.

Murali Balaji has contributed to existing research on the roles of "video vixens" in hip-hop. Balaji argues that hip-hop music video models have the opportunity to utilize a sense of agency in order to negotiate their positions within hip-hop culture. Through an analysis of Melyssa Ford's music video career, Balaji highlights how it is possible for women in hip-hop to harness their sexuality as a form of political resistance. By way of carefully calculated self-presentation, video vixens are given the chance to subvert objectification and benefit from their own commodification.

Crystal Belle highlights the myriad implications of Black masculinity in hip-hop by focusing on both mainstream and underground artists. Belle acknowledges how diverse representations of Black men within hip-hop culture work to both subvert and uphold white-supremacist hetero-patriarchal meanings surrounding Black masculinity. Belle's contributions to hip-hop feminist scholarship reveal how it is possible for mainstream hip-hop artists to profit from their adherence to oppressive social stereotypes, while those artists who challenge such stereotypes benefit from the destabilization of social expectations.

** I want to link to other wikipedia pages for certain terms used above--> performativity, identity construction (there's currently a page called identity formation), video vixens, objectification, commodification, masculinity

Evaluation of Video Game Culture page

There is a warning on this page that there might be "original research" included. I'd like to pinpoint this information in the article if possible.

The page's lead is strong. It gives a very general overview of video game culture, which I think is necessary considering all the information that is included in the rest of the article.

I think the demographics section id seriously lacking. As stated on the talk page previously, there is only info regarding gamers native to the US. This section could benefit from more widespread data. I also think the portion that discusses Wii consoles is questionable. There needs to be more information in this section in general.

The LAN gaming and Online gaming sections are sufficient.

The slang and terminology section is interesting, but I don't know that it needs an entire section. Perhaps this info could be included in a more general section that focuses on the communities formed within gaming culture-- and the slang/subcultural tendencies adopted by these groups.

The social implications of video games section is tiny, and should be expanded if it is to be included (I do think it is an important topic, but we just need more information if it is to have its own section).

This is also the case with the gender issues section. This section could be expanded a lot.

Drafting for Video Game Culture Wiki Page

Marginalized Gaming Communities

Despite dominant perceptions of gamers as asocial, straight, white men, there are in fact multiple diverse communities contained within the subculture of video gaming. For instance, it has been shown by past research that the LGBTQ+ community maintains a notable presence within video game culture. For LGBTQ+ gamers, video games provide an alternate reality in which there is the opportunity for sexual expression, identity formation, and community building. (cite Krobova)

Because video game culture has long been a space dominated by heterosexual men, the video game industry tends to cater to this particularly lucrative audience, producing video games that reflect the desires of the straight male gaze. Due to the lack of representation of alternate identities in video games, gamers who divert from the dominant demographic are often relegated to the margins of the culture, thus perpetuating the stereotypical image of the geeky, heterosexual male gamer as the ruler of the gaming world. Contrarily to popular belief, there are a multitude of communities within video game culture that do not fulfill the typical gamer stereotype. The problem is that they lack visibility. One reason for this is that many people do not want to reveal their association with gaming culture out of fear of stigmatization. Past research has shown this to be the case for many female gamers. Because women in gaming are often ostracized by their male gamer counterparts, female gamers are frequently forced to conceal their genders, only participating in gaming when they have the ability to remain anonymous. (cite Paaßen)

To be added to demographics section (second paragraph that discusses the increase in players):

As displayed by the recent release of certain games, video game developers have started to create gaming content that appeals to alternative audiences, beyond those of "Player 1." The idea of "Player 1" refers to the stereotypical straight male gamer as the sole individual that video games are created for. On the other hand, "Player 2" may refer to populations of gamers who divert from this demographic, such as women or LGBTQ+ communities. (Cite Chess) Games designed to appeal to "Player 2" offer gamers an alternative gaming experience, thus allowing for the further expansion of the video game subculture.

Bibliography for video game culture page:

Paaßen, Benjamin, et al. “What is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and    the Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture.”  Sex Roles: A Journal of      Research, vol. 76, no. 7-8, 2017, pp. 421-435. Gale. Web. 15 Mar. 2018.

Krobova, Tereza, et al. “Dressing Commander Shepard in Pink: Queer Playing in a   Heteronormative Game Culture.”  Cyperpsychology, vol. 9, no. 3, 2015, pp. 38- 51. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Mar. 2018.