Does Ratchet = Cool

Ratchet is known in the Urban Dictionary as a Diva, mainly referred to African American women who portray themselves in a manner that demands what they think is positive attention from a man through acting out in a wild, endearing, commonly used term (Ghetto) manner. She walks around with a demeanor pushing to be well known as a man’s eye candy when in reality she is wrong. Imagine a young lady in a tight fitted outfit, two cell phones, walking down the streets with her music blaring through her phone or talking loud and obscene hoping to gain attention.

If you chose to do a random poll asking people what they consider a women who is labeled ratchet, the answers would probably vary tremendously from: rude, ghetto, uneducated, attention seekers...All of these terms are negative connotations that are associated with “Ratchedness”. Do you think this is considered cool?

Being ratchet was a wide known term within the revolutionized years of Hip Hop as LL Cool J released a song called “Ratchet” which basically depicted a young woman who is considered a gold digger. Philip and Emmanuel Houston, Atlanta brothers created a parody that depicted women in a ratchet manner as they dressed up in full garb, carrying out dated flip phones, going clubbing while bearing a child and fighting random women. Now a days, like many terms with negative connotation, women have changed the meaning of ratchet into a compliment. The term “ratchet” regardless of what era we represent is negative, representing a young woman who is lacking home training and the ability to utilize common sense.

In the end it is important that young women represent themselves in a manner that gives off positive vibes but also portrays the respect you have for yourself as an individual. It is sad that society places this type of negative stigma on women of color but not all black women have reclaimed the term. Allow yourself to be an individual and demand respect by showing you love yourself enough to not fall into societal pressures.