Strange Fruit #275: How The Jezebel Trope Hurts Us All

We’re joined this week by Dr. Tamura Lomax, independent scholar and the co-founder and CEO of the online feminist and anti-racist publication The Feminist Wire, to discuss her book, "Jezebel Unhinged: Loosing the Black Female Body in Religion and Culture." In the book, she traces the Jezebel trope (the portrayal of black women as naturally lascivious and seductive) from the black church to black pop culture. On today's show, we discuss how the persistence of this trope perpetuates heteronormativity, gender hierarchy and patriarchy within black communities and cultural institutions. Later in the show we chat with writer Matthew Thompson about his provocative essay, “The messy relationship between f*ggots & the Black American pop diva,” which explores the symbiotic relationship between black women pop stars and black gay men. In Juicy Fruit, I reveal how holiday music can be bad for your health, while Doc shares the story of a fun-loving parrot who likes romantic music and ordering ice cream from Alexa.