Overview

Winner, 2019 Outstanding Book Award, International Communication Association How Black women in the spotlight negotiate the post-racial gaze of Hollywood and beyond From Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Shonda Rhimes to their audiences and the industry workers behind the scenes, Ralina L. Joseph considers the way that Black women are required to walk a tightrope. Do they call out racism only to face accusations of being called ""racists""? Or respond to racism in code only to face accusations of selling out? Postracial Resistance explores how African American women celebrities, cultural producers, and audiences employ postracial discourse—the notion that race and race-based discrimination are over and no longer affect people's everyday lives—to refute postracialism itself. In a world where they're often written off as stereotypical ""Angry Black Women,"" Joseph offers that some Black women in media use ""strategic ambiguity,"" deploying the failures of post-racial discourse to name racism and thus resist it. In Postracial Resistance, Joseph listens to and observes Black women as they perform and negotiate race in strategic ambiguity. Using three methods of media analysis—textual readings of the media's representation of these women; interviews with writers, producers, and studio executives; and audience ethnographies of young women viewers—Joseph maps the tensions and strategies that all Black women must engage to challenge the racialized sexism of everyday life, on- and off-screen.

Full Product Details

9781479886371

Table of Contents

Reviews

A fascinating studythat boldly mines the complexities of racial and gender microaggressions incontemporary media, examining the many ways in which Black women cultureworkers and consumers have navigated said minefields. Through nuanced readingsof our notoriously vexed postracial pop cultural landscape, and through richexplorations of Black women and their audiences, Ralina Joseph has written anecessary accompaniment to Claudia Rankine's Citizen. -Daphne Brooks,author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910 With the spectacularvisibility of Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Beyonce, such a book isneeded now, perhaps, more than ever. To advanceconversations about the intersections of race, class, gender, media, and accomplishment, Ralina Joseph introducesus to the concept of `strategic ambiguity,' one that complicates the realitiesof celebrity life for women of color in the wake of the `postracial' condition. -Herman Gray,author of Cultural Moves, African Americans and the Politics of Representation

With the spectacular visibility of Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Beyonce, such a book is needed now, perhaps, more than ever. To advance conversations about the intersections of race, class, gender, media, and accomplishment, Ralina Joseph introduces us to the concept of & strategic ambiguity, one that complicates the realities of celebrity life for women of color in the wake of the & postracial condition. -- Herman Gray,author of Cultural Moves, African Americans and the Politics of Representation A fascinating study that boldly mines the complexities of racial and gender microaggressions in contemporary media, examining the many ways in which Black women culture workers and consumers have navigated said minefields. Through nuanced readings of our notoriously vexed postracial pop cultural landscape, and through rich explorations of Black women and their audiences, Ralina Joseph has written a necessary accompaniment to Claudia Rankines Citizen. -- Daphne Brooks,author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910

The book is significant in centering the voices and experiences of African American women in media studies and articulating their strategic resistance in mediated spaces where they are minoritized. -- Choice With the spectacular visibility of Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Beyonce, such a book is needed now, perhaps, more than ever. To advance conversations about the intersections of race, class, gender, media, and accomplishment, Ralina Joseph introduces us to the concept of & strategic ambiguity, one that complicates the realities of celebrity life for women of color in the wake of the & postracial condition. -- Herman Gray,author of Cultural Moves, African Americans and the Politics of Representation A fascinating study that boldly mines the complexities of racial and gender microaggressions in contemporary media, examining the many ways in which Black women culture workers and consumers have navigated said minefields. Through nuanced readings of our notoriously vexed postracial pop cultural landscape, and through rich explorations of Black women and their audiences, Ralina Joseph has written a necessary accompaniment to Claudia Rankines Citizen. -- Daphne Brooks,author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910

Author Information

Ralina L. Joseph is Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Washington, Seattle. Joseph is the author of several books, including Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media Culture, and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity. Ralina L. Joseph is Professor of Communication at the University of Washington, Seattle. Joseph is the author of several books, including Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media Culture, and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available