Taking on the Light: Ontological Black Girlhood in the Twenty-first Century. Issue 1 (1st March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scott, Renee Nishawn
• Is Part Of: Girlhood studies. Volume 15:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 16
• Publication Date: 2022-03-01
• Subjects: Black Girl Magic -- cultural appropriation -- light making -- play -- social media -- TikTok; Girls -- Periodicals; Girls -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Girls -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; Girls -- Education -- Periodicals; Girls -- Sexual behavior -- Periodicals; Girls -- Health and hygiene -- Periodicals; Women's studies -- Periodicals; 305.23082
• DOI: 10.3167/ghs.2022.150102
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1938-8209

Abstract

Abstract: When society invokes Cashawn Thompson's hashtag phrase, "Black Girl Magic, " we laud the accomplishments of Black women and girls as if those triumphs are innate. In this article, I suggest that Black girls participate in a process that I call light making, or embodying that which is lighthearted, encouraging, and self-preserving. In exploring this particular ontology, I deconstruct Black Girl Magic by focusing on contemporary examples of light making as a way of understanding the critical role that Black girls play in Black cultural formation. By focusing on Black girl joy and play in social media, I stress light making as an ontology located in Black girlhood.