ABSTRACT
This article offers an analysis of the dozens using Black feminist theory. The dozens are a ritualized verbal game of insults that historically have used sexual offenses against Black women as the vehicle for insults. Rather than simply viewing the dozens as a cultural phenomenon, the article draws a connection between its occurrence in West Africa, the West Indies, slave communities, and post enslavement and attempts to understand the various changes and the connection of the dozens to Black female devaluation. Through dialog with Oshun, the author deconstructs the historical and cultural significance of the dozens, placing it in a constructed conversation methodology. Importantly, the article shows how deconstruction of the dozens can be used as a pedagogical tool leading students to a deeper and more thorough understanding of a taken-for-granted cultural phenomenon.
