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341st out of 575 books
—
742 voters
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down
by
Joan Morgan
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost is a decidedly intimate look into the life of the modern black woman: a complex world where feminists often have not-so-clandestine affairs with the most sexist of men; where women who treasure their independence often prefer men who pick up the tab; where the deluge of babymothers and babyfathers reminds black women, who long for marri...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
March 10th 1999
by Simon & Schuster
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I actually really enjoyed this book. The author is a hip-hop feminist who writes about her struggle as a feminist and her love for hip-hop and her African-Ameriacn community, but how she is torn because the lyrics, media representation of her sister community, etc. I would recommend this book to anyone doing urban youth ministry, and the girls in that youth ministry.(high-school/college-aged. I'm including one of my favorite excerpts of the book:
"I'm going to make God the main man in my life. Wh...more
"I'm going to make God the main man in my life. Wh...more
first off, this one got 4 stars because it got me thinking and talking, NOT because i didn't find some of the content problematic. That part about how dudes should be able to abdicate their parental rights, and thus responsibilities, if they were clear thru a pregnancy that they didn't want to parent a child? Damn, that one still turns my guts. That's some shit. But no matter how vehemently i disagree with some of JM's conclusions, the questions are dead on.
I found more relevant to MY life in t...more
I found more relevant to MY life in t...more
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Joan Morgan, a self-described hip-hop feminist, makes some good points in her book on black feminism. For example, the chapter on the Strong Black Woman-Southern Belle dichotomy is particularly poignant and well-done. But overall, Morgan tries so hard to make feminism accessible and palatable that she winds up watering it down to the point where there no longer is a point. By the last chapter, the reader finds Morgan explaining that black women should let black men pay for everything on all thei...more
If ever you needed an example of "Knowledge is power" this is it. Each chapter served as veritable checkpoints for what I once believed, currently believe and should aspire to believe (or all of the above) about thriving as a black woman living as a by-product of the hip-hop, post-civil rights, post-practically everything eras. Morgan's lyrical, conversational tone reads like an all-night girl chat fest talkin' 'bout loving maturely, the perks and dips of female ambition and independence and und...more
I picked this up because of Rookie Magazine. And because it has a clever title. I like that it is a book that doesn't claim to be more than the author's truth, and not in a defensive way but in a way that invites the reader to engage with their own truths. There's a lot of material to engage with - I really enjoyed finding the ways that the black cultural issues that Morgan is writing about intersect and mirror other groups' cultural issues - like traditional machoism having similar stressors as...more
Plucked from a "swap box" in the Girls Rock camp breakroom a copy dotted with really charming marginalia ("fuck that", "ouch!", "ahem, Latifa"). Read the first half on my breaks at camp and felt an almost tangible sensation that the future of feminism and hip-hop and women's art was open wide. Read the second half back in the real world the following week and felt less inspired. Part of that had to do with the book and part of that had to do with the context in which it was read, but isn't that...more
From the very first page I was HOOKED! Joan Morgan allowed me to embrace her words and inspired me to emulate her courageous style of writing. At first glance, I told myself that this should be great, hopefully not another feminist knocking our hip hop music. As a young black feminist, I must admit that I have always identified with feminist; however, Joan Morgan truely defined and provided the correct representation of what I am. Morgan focused on black women and our role in america, from relat...more
Lately, I have been studying and working to understand the culture and meaning of hip hop music, and thus I came upon this book, subtitled "a hip-hop feminism." Simply put, it is an excellent series of letters to the world about a young woman struggling to find/construct her identity as a black woman that is part of the hip-hop generation and becoming an adult in the 80's and 90's after the successes of 1960's feminism. Morgan's writing is both intelligent and candid, and I found myself riveted...more
May 18, 2009
Monique
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009-reading-list,
non-fiction
I have had this book on my TBR list for a very longtime. I remember first coming across an article mention this book when doing a research paper for an African-American studies course. I have long since forgotten what the paper was about but I remember this book title. Maybe because it is such a catching title and used a term that I remember from growing up. That being said I had high hopes for this book. While I think the author deliver I did have some issues with it. There were many topics br...more
Morgan is a member of her self-described "post-Civil Rights, post-feminist, post-soul generation." Trying to carve out her own identity, she takes an in-depth look at feminism, black women, black men, sexism, racism, and hip-hop; and how they all co-exist--but especially how they should co-exist. Using a little bit of theory, a smattering of statistics, and a lot of real life, Morgan explains the differences between her generation and her mother's; the hypocrisy she sees every day; and how she c...more
Oooooooh girl you gotta git yo groove back cuz these punk ass niggaz straight playin'. But seriously, I think I like hip hop feminism much better than the other kind. Joan Morgan keeps one important thing in mind that doesn't make someone with a dick detest this book. She is down to Earth about feminism. That's right, NOT a delusional dike. An honest approach to what women are, none of the bullshit.
starts strong ends losing the point a little bit. In terms of reading a voice different than most of the voices I read it was great, good to get perspective too that sits in an academic tradition while at the same time trying to figure things out how they are and why they are and as they are... however like i said, the end drops the ball a bit. Up until the last two chapters this book is tres strong. And even the last two chapters are valuable. It is a good personal document and a testament to a...more
This book really got me to re-investigate my own feminist self and the struggles connecting "theory" to everyday "practice" especially when it comes to Black love. Joan Morgan is able to talk the issues that we often brush under the table in language that is accessible to all, taking feminist discussion from the academy to the mainstream.
I loved her perspective on relationships and the hip hop community. Though I feel her main focus was on the relationships between black men & women. I really enjoyed her poetic take on what it means to be a black woman looking for true love in the chickenhead kingdom.
Morgan got down in this book and told the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I had the pleasure of tearing this book apart in a class with other like minded people and it was great.
I am reading this for the second time. The first time I was in college. I figure I may have a different take on it now.
Done. Very interesting. Not what you think. Tough to get into in the begining but once you do, you'll breeze through it. Really good read.
Done. Very interesting. Not what you think. Tough to get into in the begining but once you do, you'll breeze through it. Really good read.
I've never read a book like this before. Joan Morgan speaks to the politics of the hip hop generation in a way that I would have never contemplated, had I not discovered this book!
I read this book in college and I finally was able to come to terms with being and calling myself a feminist. This book was an empowering read that I still refer to and give to students.
I got halfway through this book and I regret, didn't finish but I need to read it again so I can use it in my work with my women student leaders.
couldn't get through it...
Great in terms of the 3rd Wave's history, not very revolutionary in terms of its ideas. I recently read it for the second time, and I'm glad I did, because I apply more of an anti-racist lens. I'm glad the book celebrates hip hop culture and I recognize the book wasn't written for me. It speaks more to the young, black, professional woman. I can respect that, but I also think the theory could have been deeper, more radical.
Sep 27, 2007
Tamika
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young women of color coming into feminism
this is one of the first books i read that was explicitly feminist in nature. it definitely helped to shape the way i looked at myself as a young black woman in relation to the rest of my community. i haven't read it in many years, so i'm sure that i've evolved in ways that may not be represented by the book, but i still appreciate joan morgan, and her contribution to my politicization.
This is a must read! Joan Morgan addresses real-life, present-day contradictions of feminism that I personally grapple with.
I want to pass this book out to the teenage girls I see walking around the high school I work.
I want to pass this book out to the teenage girls I see walking around the high school I work.
Morgan tells the truth without sugar-coating anything, which is refreshing. She's also witty and had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Her analysis of women's reproductive rights and men's lack of rights concerning the decision to parent children was very compelling. She spoke at my alma mater so I'm glad I finally got around to reading her book.
Not usually my cup of tea, but it's for a women's empowerment group for teenagers. The book does a great job of telling the young ladies what we alawys say: love yourself first before you lose yourself to some boy.
Also some interesting thoughts on Feminism and women of color.
Towanda!
Also some interesting thoughts on Feminism and women of color.
Towanda!
Damn, i remember when this came out, i was 18 and shat when i saw it the bookstore. i bought and read it immediately. it had a tremendous impact on my decision to call myself a "feminist" and my ability to identify once in college with what i grew up thinking as white women's turf.
i LOVED this book when I first read it. It's very heteronormative though. And now I'm bothered by what it also has carved out in terms of writing about hip hop from a female perspective. I am getting sick of the in-love/out-of-love with hip-hop narrative it has set up for black women.
Interesting but a bit dated now. I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 5 because I don't like the denigrating of women in the 'chickenhead' category. That seems unfair, petty and completely lacking in power analysis.
I would love to read her latest work to see how she's moved on.
I would love to read her latest work to see how she's moved on.
This is the first book for the Women Warriors (and, no, I didn't pick that club title with all the subtexts that could go along with it), a women's only book club focused on teaching the young women a little about female empowerment.
I read this book when I was writing about the Game's "Hate it or Love It" song for a paper on hip hop, heterosexism, and homophobia. I wanted to read about how Joan reconciled (or if she could reconcile) being a hip hop feminist. Great read!
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Joan Morgan is an award-winning journalist and author and a provocative cultural critic. A pioneering hip-hop journalist and entertainment writer, she began her professional writing career freelancing for The Village Voice before having her work published by Vibe, Intervie...more
More about Joan Morgan...
Joan Morgan is an award-winning journalist and author and a provocative cultural critic. A pioneering hip-hop journalist and entertainment writer, she began her professional writing career freelancing for The Village Voice before having her work published by Vibe, Intervie...more
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