Aretha's Role In Minority Identity Development

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Recommended: Protest music and its impact on racial issues

Aretha’s music has left an indelible imprint on the very fabric of American music and culture. Her song had impacted many souls, leaving emotional and memorable memories within her audience. Aretha’s powerful voice aided with the country’s biggest cultural movement: the civil rights and the women's movement. But how could one spectacular woman impact her listeners in such a magnificent style? We will be analyzing our artifact by looking at the racial minority identity development, gender identity, hidden histories and cultural and electronic imperialism. Looking at the issues in the identity aspect are important in seeing intercultural interactions. It is through communication that we come to understand ourselves and form our identity. Our identities develop over a period of time and always through …show more content…

In RESPECT, like mention before, the song encouraged African American women to stand up for themselves, to find who they are and search for equality during the civil rights movement. We would be analyzing the song by using Minority Identity Development to look at all the stages that the song had impacted her listeners. In Minority Identity Development, it often develops in the following stages: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4. Stage 1 is the unexamined identity, this stage is characterized by the lack of exploration of identity. It could be either racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, gender or any other type. Females around the civil rights movement did not seem as important during the beginning of this movement nor did they had an important role to play. The lacked any interest in their identity issue. However, in this stage also expressed how one can accept the dominant culture and have a negative outlook within its own by trying to “fit in”. During the civil rights movement, females try to start an organization for quality among each other,

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