Ratchet Black Lives Matter: Megan Thee Stallion, Intra-Racial Violence, and the Elusion of Grief

In July 2020, Megan Thee Stallion was shot. The vitriol directed towards her represented the ways certain kinds of Black women’s bodies do not effectively garner collective forms of grief, or the public expression of empathy toward someone who experiences tragedy or suffers harm. The lack of empathy shown by many toward Megan falls in line with the ways that Black women, girls, and femmes are frequently disregarded—their bodies marked as excessive, loud, disposable, and above all, deserving of whatever violence is exacted upon them. In this essay, I argue that Megan Thee Stallion was not, to some, an appropriate target for grief--she was ungrievable--because, as a ratchet Black woman who embodies a purposeful lack of regard for Black middle-class norms concerning gender and sexuality, she is seen as less deserving of sympathy by those holding racist ideas about Black women.

Duke Scholars

Author Nikki Lane Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies