Booty Power Politics: The Social-mediated Consumption of Black Female Bodies in Popular Culture

ABSTRACT This article analyses the concept of booty power, objectification and consumption of the female body in popular culture. Booty power is used here to refer to discourses around the Stocko Sama2K, initially a group of five women who were caught on camera dancing the “John Vul’ igate” song and dance challenge, and their sexualized dance routines. I draw on digital ethnography and interviews to argue that objectification presents us with complexities, and conclude that it is a multi-dimensional maze shaped by different socio-cultural agents. The article casts light on how women’s bodies are used as a source of conversations on decency, morality, power and culture. Objectification theory is used to demonstrate the power of objectification by others and also by the self. The research concludes that objectification and self-objectification worked in both directions, as disempowering and empowering, especially to women, given the conflicting socio-cultural elements at play.