ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the interpretation of the word to the very ratchet institutions that enact a kind violence in the lives of Black women, rendering them invisible and, at times, leading them to react in a "ratchet" manner. The mere mention of the word "ratchet" seems to evoke myriad visual imageries and cues. One of the most noteworthy examples of ratchetness is the 2012 YouTube video "Ratchet Girl Anthem," whose chorus is presented in the epigraph. Instead, disrespectability politics allows for Black women to operate within the extremes of the queen-subject/ho-object framework that portray women in binaries and stereotypes. Ratchet politics create the need for disrespectability politics. This relationship is best illustrated by how Black women use disrespectability to navigate ratchet politics. Understanding the ways in which Lewis and Cooper expertly highlight how "ratchet behavior" functions as a way to police Black women's sexuality and their actions.
