Ride or Die: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women

Sociologist Hubbard debuts with a standout study of how the lionization of the “ride-or-die chick” negatively impacts Black women. Defining the “ride-or-die chick” as a woman “renowned for the sacrifices she made for her partner at almost any cost to herself,” Hubbard examines the pivotal role hip-hop music played in bringing the concept to the mainstream and cementing it in the psyche of Black men and women. She challenges the cultural expectation that Black women should quickly forgive the emotional and financial abuse they suffer and cites the rapturous response to Jay-Z’s album 4:44 as “reflective of how too many of us run to celebrate Black men who have finally seen the light of their wrongdoings” without “examin[ing] what they are doing to change their behavior.” Hubbard also explores how cultural representations of the street corners within Black neighborhoods often fail to “acknowledge the trauma and violence Black women and girls endure on these corners”; illuminates microaggressions faced by LGBTQ Black women; and analyzes the backlash to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s celebration of Black female sexuality in the song “WAP.” Effortlessly blending personal anecdotes, academic scholarship, and pop culture analysis, this is an authentic and cathartic call for change. (Nov.)