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Challenging Eurocentric Standards
Queen Latifah has demonstrated several forms of activism over her lifetime, challenging Eurocentric ideals and representing the black, female body. An initial sign of the beginning of her resistance to these Eurocentric standards started with her name. Her entire name was self-chosen, and while ‘Latifah’ came from an Arabic book, ‘Queen’ originated from her desire to create a strong, black identity, which was fueled by her mother, Rite Owens, who gave her the foundation to develop into a self-proclaimed Queen

Afrocentric Queendom is a concept that Queen Latifah uses to demonstrate her resistance to Eurocentric standards. This term, Afrocentric Queendom, refers to African centered customs that also incorporate female empowerment. Eurocentric constructions are challenged by this concept because Afrocentrism deconstructs oppressive environments, essentially disrupting centralized European spaces. The notion of the term Queen was intentionally crafted by Latifah, redefining what plus size, black women were in society. The notion of the term Queen was intentionally crafted by Latifah, redefining what plus size, black women were in society. Over the twentieth century, the term ‘mammy’ coincided with black women because many were left to take care of white children. This term stripped many black women around this time of their name, forcing them to adopt the new identity of ‘mammy.' Following the emergence of this term, African American women have been stereotyped as mothering figures, while also signaling a loss of identity. This is what Queen Latifah aimed to avoid when creating her stage name, with the intention of opposing the Eurocentric construction of the term mammy. The sole idea of her choosing her name imitates power and promotes strength within herself.

Latifah also rejects Eurocentric standards by embracing Afrocentric ideals and incorporating this concept within her work. She claims that Afrocentricity is a great way of living, creating a sense of pride around her heritage. Within her music, Latifah incorporates Afrobeats and language while also centering black women within her lyrics and visuals. This can be clearly identified in her  1989 ‘Ladies First’ music video, to where South African culture is present in her work, which included Afrocentric visuals and clothes that align culturally with South Africa.

The idea of the black, female body has been criticized and mocked, as well as being imitated over the past couple of decades by celebrities. Queen Latifah, a plus sized, black woman has continued to challenge Eurocentric standards by advocating for body positivity and incorporating her size as a part of her music identity within her early Hip Hop career. Her goal was to politicize and posterize her body to influence young, black girls that all bodies should be accepted, especially in her male dominated field at the time. Throughout her early career, Latifah challenged the Eurocentric mythology of the inferiority of black, female bodies, by creating a marketable figure that was respectable within the Hip Hop industry in the mid 1990s.

Queen Latifah didn’t always center Africanness around her career, eventually embracing more Black American customs, while not completely abandoning African ideals. This was present through her physical appearance and her music. In her 1993 rap song, U.N.I.T.Y. she incorporates more jazz and soul sounds into her music, as well as empowering lyrics. Her lyrics address concerns regarding harassment and domestic violence within the black community, as well as lyrics to uplift black women such as, “U.N.I.T.Y, love a black woman from infinity to infinity.”