The diva – a central figure in the landscape of contemporary popular culture: gossip-generating, scandal-courting, paparazzi-stalked. And yet the diva is at the epicentre of creative endeavours that resonate with contemporary feminist ideas, kick back against diminished social expectations, boldly call-out casual sexism and industry misogyny and, in terms of hip-hop, explores intersectional oppressions and unapologetically celebrates non-white cultural heritages. Diva beats and grooves echo across culture and politics in the West: from the borough to the White House, from arena concerts to nightclubs, from social media to social activism, from #MeToo to Black Lives Matter.
Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop addresses the diva phenomenon and its origins: its identity politics and LGBTQ+ components; its creativity and interventions in areas of popular culture (music, and beyond); its saints and sinners and controversies old and new; and its oppositions to, and recuperations by, the establishment; and its shifts from third to fourth waves of feminism.
This co-edited collection brings together an international array of writers – from new voices to established names. The collection scopes the rise to power of the diva (looking to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Grace Jones, and Aaliyah), then turns to contemporary diva figures and their work (with Beyoncé, Amuro Namie, Janelle Monáe, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Nicki Minaj), and concludes by considering the presence of the diva in wider cultures, in terms of gallery curation, theatre productions, and stand-up comedy.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Introduction: ‘Y’All! The Diva and Us’
Kirsty Fairclough, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, Benjamin Halligan, University of Wolverhampton, UK, Nicole Hodges Persley, University of Kansas, USA, and Shara Rambarran, University of Brighton, UK
Section One: The Rise to Power
1. “Proceed with Caution”: Mariah Carey – the Ultimate Diva in Popular Music and Culture?
Shara Rambarran, University of Brighton, UK
2.Performing Creative Labour: Whitney Houston Metanarratives on MTV, 1985-1988
Gwynne George, Independent Scholar, USA
3. A Girl of Many Colours: Dolly Parton’s Image Evolution, 1967-2022
James Reeves, Independent Scholar, UK
4. A Fondness for Shock: The Celebrated Outburst of Grace Jones
Mark Duffett, University of Chester, UK
Section Two: The Diva and Our Times
5. Aaliyah’s Voice and After
Benjamin Halligan, University of Wolverhampton, UK
6. “Suck On My Balls, Bitch!”: #MeToo and Beyoncé – A Paradigm Shift
Hannah Strong, Independent Scholar, USA
7. Amuro Namie: Japan’s Diva in the Postmodern Era?
Dorothy Finan, Independent Scholar, UK
8. Reconstructing the American Dream: Janelle Monáe’s Afrofuturist Performances
Timmia Hearn DeRoy, Independent Scholar, USA
9. “WAP”: Erotic Revolutionary Hip-Hop by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion
Shawna Shipley-Gates, Independent Scholar, USA
10. Putting the Divas Back in Their Place: Controversy and Backlash at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Gina Sandí Díaz, California State University, USA
11. Simultaneously Black: Drake and Nicki Minaj and the Performance of Hip-Hip Cosmopolitanisms
Nicole Hodges Persley, University of Kansas, USA
Section Three: Diva Cultures
12. Curating the Diva
Harriet Reed, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
13. A Diva on the Iranian Stage: Ali Akbar Alizad’s Remix of Jean Genet’s The Maids
Rana Esfandiary, University of Kansas, USA
14. Recasting Diva Culture: Performative Strategies of Fourth Wave Black Feminist Stand-Up Comedy
Rachel E. Blackburn, Independent Scholar, USA
15. Independent Women: The Impact of Pop Divas on Stand-Up Comedy
Ellie Tomsett, Birmingham City University, UK, and Nathalie Weidhase, University of Surrey, UK
Index
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