Chickenhead is an American English slang term that is typically used in a derogatory manner toward women.^[1] The term mocks the motion of the head while performing oral sex on a man, but contains social characteristics and cultural relevance as well, and is frequently heard in popular hip hop music.^[2][3] More recent uses of the term have seen it taken back by hip hop feminists and entertainers as a symbol of sexuality and power.^[2] "Chickenhead" is also a term used in overseas sex trafficking for individuals that facilitate and monitor a person's transition into sex work.^[4]

The earliest known use of the term "chickenhead" in American literature is in John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden. In the novel, the term is used to refer to the working girls of a brothel. There are two uses of the term "chickenhead" in John Steinbeck novels. Both uses are in East of Eden. The first use is in Chapter 16, when Kate, the madam of a brothel, refers to the working girls as "chickenheads." She says, "The chickenheads were in the kitchen, getting ready for their night's work. ^[5] Kate had them all lined up, inspecting their clothes and hair. She was a short, stout woman with a face like a hatchet. She looked at each girl carefully and then said, 'All right, chickenheads, you're all set.' The second use is in Chapter 44, when Cathy Ames, a prostitute, refers to herself as a "chickenhead." She says, "I'm a chickenhead, and I'm proud of it. I'm the best there is."

Contemporary use of the term may have originated in African-American sexual slang and gained popularity through use in hip hop, notably the song "Unbelievable" by Biggie Smalls from his 1994 album Ready to Die, the 1996 skit "Chickenhead Convention" on the album Muddy Waters by Redman (rapper). Additionally, the song "Chickenhead" by Project Pat (featuring La Chat and Three Six Mafia) introduced this black vernacular term to a more mainstream audience.^[6] "Chickenhead" was defined as a "hoochie" or "fellatious woman" when featured on Chappelle's Show.^[7]

Rapper Cardi B released a remix of Project Pat's song in 2018, titled "Bickenhead", changing the message from largely mocking women to an expression of empowerment and sexual ownership.^[8] The song was largely well received, debuting at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 list in April 2018.^[9]

Use of the term "chickenhead" predates this and extends across the demographic makeup of American society. Examples include John Steinbeck's 1952 Novel "East of Eden", in which the (white) proprietor of a brothel indirectly refers to the working girls of her establishment as "chickenheads".^[10] Dr. R. Flowers Rivera used the term "chickenhead" more recently, in a poem that identifies it as a woman who is impoverished and an alcoholic lacking empathy.^[11]

A chickenhead in the transnational sex trade is typically responsible for facilitating transportation, acquiring temporary lodging, and monitoring activities of the new sex worker, similar to the activities of a "pimp".^[4]

Ronald Weitzer and Charis Kubrin note that "A favorite rap term is 'chickenhead,' which reduces a woman to a bobbing head giving oral sex."^[12] Bakari Kitwana argues that many rappers refer to women, black women in particular, with demeaning terms names such as "bitches, gold diggers, hoes, hoodrats, chickenheads, pigeons, and so on."^[13] Johnnetta B. Cole argues that hip hop's tradition to refer to black women in such terms disrespects and vilifies them.^[14]

In Joan Morgan's When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost, she notes the derogatory tendency of the term "chickenhead", and further defines it as a woman who uses sex to achieve the things she wants.^[15] As a black, hip-hop feminist, Morgan offers that chickenheads simply use the tools afforded to them when other means are not efficient, and that all women may have something to learn from the use of sexual power.^[16]

• Misogyny in rap music

• Morgan, Joan (1999). When chickenheads come home to roost: my life as a hip-hop feminist. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780684822624.
• Bulbeck, Chilla (2000). "Young feminist voices on the future of feminism". Sociological Sites/Sights, TASA 2000 Conference, (6-8 December). Adelaide: Flinders University.
• Springer, Kimberly (Summer 2002). "Third wave Black feminism?". Signs. 27 (4): 1059–1082. doi:10.1086/339636. JSTOR 10.1086/339636. S2CID 143519056.
• Massey, Carla (1996). "Body-smarts: an adolescent girl thinking, talking, and mattering". Gender and Psychoanalysis. 1. Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing (PEP): 75–102.
• Stephens, Dionne P.; Phillips, Layli D. (March 2003). "Freaks, gold diggers, divas, and dykes: The sociohistorical development of adolescent African American women's sexual scripts". Sexuality & Culture. 7 (1): 3–49. doi:10.1007/BF03159848. S2CID 143036176.