The Utley Experience

Utley, Ebony A. "'I Used to Love Him': Exploring the Miseducation About Black Love and Sex." Critical Studies in Media Communication 27:3 (2010): 291-308.

Basketball Wives
Dr. Utley uncovers the heartbreak of the "hardcore" basketball wives.

Cheating? iPhone Has an App for That
Dr. Utley scrutinizes the marraige of infidelity and technology.

Why Mistresses Talk And Wives Don't
Responding to the Tiger Woods infidelity scandal, Dr. Utley confronts common stereotypes and raises questions about cheating, talking, silence, and power.

Black Women’s Relationships: What’s Really Real?
Dr. Utley differentiates fact from fiction in mediated representations of black women’s relationships during a talk at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The Problem with Black Marriage Day
Dr. Utley historicizes black marriage day from slavery through black nationalism to the present.

African American Marriage
Dr. Utley encourages audiences to look for black love in spaces that include but are not limited to marriage.

Utley, Ebony A. "When Better Becomes Worse: Black Wives Describe Their Experiences with Infidelity." Black Women, Gender & Families. Forthcoming.

Hip Hop Jesus
Dr. Utley connects the experiences of urban rappers to the historical and spiritual Jesus who experienced oppression, was crucified by his haters, and was resurrected as a powerful god.

Hip Hop and the Spiritual Recession
Dr. Utley contributes to the July 10, 2010 WBAI Hip Hop Takeover Programming and answers the question: Is there a spiritual recession in hip hop?

Patriarchal Entanglements
Dr. Utley asserts that oppression is sexy during a lecture at Cerritos College.

Female Representations in Hip Hop
During a fireside chat at Wake Forest University with Alta Mauro, Dr. Utley considers how much control female rappers have over their representations in hip hop.

Will Rap Help Eradicate Racism?
As a guest on Kbeach.org radio, Dr. Utley argues that rap music will not positively impact U.S. race relations.

Utley, Ebony A. and Alisha L. Menzies. "Show Some Love: Youth Responses to 'Kiss Me Thru the Phone.'" Women and Language. 32:2 (2009): 68-77.

Utley, Ebony A. and Brenda J. Allen, eds. “Hip Hop’s Languages of Love.” Women and Language. 32:2 (2009)

Is the Whitest White Girl the Best B-Girl?
Dr. Utley asks the producer and writer/director of B-Girl about their colorblind casting choices.

Biggie, Biggie, Biggie-Can't You See? It's All About Masculinity
Dr. Utley reviews Notorious and considers the demands and expectations of black masculinity.

Having never been a gangsta herself, Ebony A. Utley, Ph.D., confidently argues that most gangsta rappers have not been gangstas either. Utley differentiates mediated gangstas of hip hop fame from the organized crime of mafia-like gangsters and the set inflicted violence of affiliated gang bangers. She claims that a gangsta is not a real person, but an identity donned by young African American male and female hip hop artists to establish themselves as authoritative figures. Incorporating her expertise in rap music, religion, and urban African American history, Utley explains how a God-sanctioned gangsta identity empowers young black people facing declines in educational, employment, and economic opportunities.

Press for The Gangsta’s God

Is America Post-Race?
Dr. Utley surveys the racist comments within YouTube responses to Obamacare and declares that America is definitely not post-race.

Heyse, Amy L. and Ebony A. Utley. "Barack Obama’s (Im)Perfect Union: An Analysis of the Strategic Successes and Failures in His Speech on Race." Western Journal of Black Studies 33:3 (2009): 153-163.

The Whitening of the California State University System
Dr. Utley discusses how measures taken to save money within the California State University System are making it less accessible to students of color.

Utley, Ebony A. “A Woman Made of Words: The Rhetorical Invention of Maria W. Stewart.” In Speaking Their Minds: Black Women’s Intellectual Traditions, edited by Kristin Waters and Carol B. Conaway. Burlington: University of Vermont Press, 2007, 55-71.