Ikamara Larasi dismantles one-sided caricatures of black women in pop culture.
Rihanna’s journey from a bungalow in Barbados to super-stardom in New York fascinates me. She occupies a unique position as possibly the only person in pop that can rival Beyoncé, but the two are seen quite differently.
As a young black British woman with Jamaican heritage, I have clung to the narrow pop culture images of women who are supposed to represent me. Pop culture is not something we can ignore. Even if we are not plugged in, it still shapes how we perceive ourselves and each other.
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