"The Miseducation of Barbie" by Jasmine Mans

Nicki Minaj is know for her ridiculous style, her performance alter egos and her colossal behind (when searching Minaj's name on Google the first item that shows up on the frequently searched list is "Nicki Minaj Booty"). Minaj’s debut album “Pink Friday” was released on November 19, 2010 and received the number one spot in history for most copies sold by a female rapper (Lauryn Hill’s music is classified as “R&B”). This crowned Minaj as the most successful female rapper in history, and “Pink Friday” is only her first album. Minaj is also known for her adoration and affiliation with Barbies and she recognizes one of her persormance alter egos as Barbie — one of her first mixtapes was titled "Barbie World". Minaj refers to her fans by their gender associations "Barbies" and "Kens" on twitter and elsewhere. In December of 2011 Mattel released a custom Nicki Minaj Barbie, dressed with a pink wig, pink dress and pink stilettos. Student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Jasmine Mans, expresses in her poem "The Miseducation of Barbie" her disappointment in Minaj of her attempted personification of the plastic doll. In the first half of the poem, Mans writes, “Don't let this industry rape the Assata out of you,” referring to black activist Assata Shakur, who lives in exile in Cuba for standing up for the civil rights of black people. Minaj is disregarding her responsibility to destroy the sexual image of black women in the industry, because if she alters this image the public will mirror it. It is easy to assume the role that Nicki Minaj has taken on is for the paycheck she gets, as in the poem, “for the price of Young Money anyone can buy themselves their own.” About halfway through the poem, Mans writes, “they will Lauryn Hill you.” Lauryn Hill was said to have intentionally fallen off the mainstream around the turn of the century because she felt her label was unfairly controlling her, according to an interview with her from Rolling Stone. Mans is saying that the music industry will manipulate her to the point where she completely leaves it (just as Lauryn Hill did) or she will completely lose her sense of identity for the fame and paycheck. If Nicki Minaj uses her influence change the image for black women in the industry then she will leave an everlasting imprint on American society, more so than she already has.