Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop

The diva is a central figure in contemporary popular culture, generating gossip, courting scandal, and being stalked by paparazzi. However, she is also 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 explore intersectional oppressions and unapologetically celebrate non-white cultural heritages. This co-edited collection brings together an international array of writers to explore the rise to power of the diva, contemporary diva figures and their work, and the presence of the diva in wider cultures.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The diva – a central figure in the landscape of contemporary popular culture – is often associated with gossip, scandal, and paparazzi. However, the diva is also at the epicenter of creative endeavors that resonate with contemporary feminist ideas, challenge diminished social expectations, boldly call out casual sexism and industry misogyny, and explore intersectional oppressions and unapologetically celebrate 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, and from #MeToo to Black Lives Matter. This co-edited collection brings together an international array of writers – from new voices to established names – to explore the rise to power of the diva, its identity politics and LGBTQ+ components, its creativity and interventions in areas of popular culture, its saints and sinners and controversies old and new, and its oppositions to and recuperations by the establishment. 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.

Weight: 586g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501368257