Ithaca College

 The Ithaca Music Forum will present a Zoom lecture by ethnomusicologist Dr. Kyra Gaunt of the University at Albany, SUNY, entitled "Music as an Instrument of Violence Against Black Girls on YouTube (or Twerking at the Intersection."  This talk will take place on Friday, April 9, at 5 pm.  See below for the Zoom registration link.

Zoom registration link:

 ithaca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvdemsrT4iGdJrloZWXl2ChjDrxHjQJw9U

or contact psilberman@ithaca.edu.

Music as an Instrument of Violence Against Black Girls on YouTube (or Twerking at the Intersection)

 When we search for our favorite songs on YouTube -- the number one music discovery channel on the web and the number one destination for kids -- we never think we are contributing to the sexual grooming and sexploitation of the most vulnerable and marginalized girls and their aspirational bedroom play. Tween twerking videos sit at the intersection of music monetization, search recommendations, and sexually-objectifying comments and disclosure tactics. This talk unpacks the role music plays and banks on gaining girls' consent to turn up to patriarchal violence and anti-Black sexism. A case study reveals how songs and fan labor do harm to girls in the wickedly complex system of YouTube. 

Ethnomusicologist Kyra Gaunt uses song, scholarship, and digital media to disclose disconnects in music, culture, and technology that perpetuate gender-based violence against girls online. Her prize-winning book, The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop (NYU Press) and subsequent publications, contributed to the emergence of hip-hop music studies, black girlhood studies, and hip-hop feminism. She was featured in the viral TED video "How the Jump Rope Got Its Rhythm" reaching over 7M+ views published in over 28 languages and in 2020 she became a Senior TED Fellow. Her article "The Magic of Black Girls Play" was an editors' pick in the New York Times in July 2020 and her next project is titled PLAYED: Twerking at the Intersection of Music, YouTube, and Violence Against Black Girls.  For more information see kyraocity.com.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Peter Silberman at psilberman@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1496. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.