Branding Black Womanhood: Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic

CaShawn Thompson crafted Black Girls Are Magic as a proclamation of Black womens resilience in 2013. Less than five years later, it had been repurposed as a gateway to an attractive niche market. Branding Black Womanhood: Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic examines the commercial infrastructure that absorbed Thompsons mantra. While the terminology may have changed over the years, mainstream brands and mass media companies have consistently sought to acknowledge Black womens possession of a distinct magic or power when it suits their profit agendas.

Beginning with the inception of the Essence brand in the late 1960s, Timeka N. Tounsel examines the individuals and institutions that have reconfigured Black womens empowerment as a business enterprise. Ultimately, these commercial gatekeepers have constructed an image economy that operates as both a sacred space for Black women and an easy hunting ground for their dollars.

 
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