Assistant professor writes book on sociology of Cardi B, Black feminist discourse

Shantee Rosado, an assistant professor in the Departments of Africana Studies and Latino and Caribbean Studies, co-wrote a book with four other Black feminist experts titled, "The Sociology of Cardi B: A Trap Feminist Approach."

The book is about broadening Black feminist discourse and providing Black women the freedom to express themselves by emphasizing the lived realities and social positions of the Black women that Cardi B symbolizes, according to this website.

"I was really interested in Cardi B's identity as a Dominican and Trinidadian New Yorker who … was being questioned around her Blackness," Rosado said. "So, that was what initially brought me into the topic."

Rosado told The Daily Targum that before the book became an idea, there was a group called the Cardi B Collective. She said that the Cardi B Collective is made up of five Black, feminist sociologists who were on two conference panels around the sociology of Cardi B. She said that after the second conference panel, there was enough material, approximately eight publishable papers, to write a book.

Rosado said the book evaluates Cardi B's public life in order to discern the sociological concepts of motherhood, race, ethnicity and Black femininity. She said the authors used sources such as social media and magazine interviews, complemented with literature to make their arguments.

"It was a good opportunity to address that subject of people policing her Blackness," she said. "That was the topic of one of the … chapters that I led in the book."

Rosado said that the process of writing the book was based on the reflection of the "Black feminist ethos of dialogue as a form of knowledge production." For example, she said that most of the chapters were led by two people, where each author would give suggestions and read aloud the arguments to ensure that the thesis comes across effectively and a consensus is established.

She said that for the politics chapter, the most surprising aspect that she found was people's feelings regarding the engagement of Black women in poverty in the political process.

For instance, Rosado said that Cardi B was confident about her extensive knowledge of American politics in her interviews and social media posts. But, she was tired of commenting on politics due to the negative responses that she received.

"It was sad to see her say she didn't want to participate anymore, but I think she still is participating in many ways," she said.

Rosado said that she hopes for readers to understand that Black women are capable of producing knowledge for themselves and for those in underrepresented communities making them feel seen. She hopes that it allows for Black women in low socioeconomic communities to see themselves as theorists. She also said that the book pushes against several academic fields, such as sociology.

Rosado said that she is currently working with Omaris Zamora, a professor in the Departments of Africana Studies and Latino and Caribbean Studies, to develop a course about Black women in global hip-hop. She said she wants to take a feminist approach to understanding hip-hop on a global scale, extending analysis beyond just the U.S.

Also, she said that she will be writing a solo book about the "emotional politics of race and anti-Blackness among Latinos," by using interview data to showcase the racial hierarchy in the country.

Rosado said that the book about Cardi B will help readers understand the knowledge production of Black women from a sociological perspective that helps us understand issues such as motherhood, class, whiteness, Blackness and politics.

"I think the book paves the way for other Black women, whether they're in sociology or not, to insert themselves in academic conversations and … share that brilliance with everyone else."