1 Ratchet Politics: Moving Beyond Black Women’s Bodies to Indict Institutions and Structures Nadia E. Brown Purdue University Department of Political Science and African American Studies Lisa Young Purdue University American Studies Accepted for Publication in the National Political Science Review Issue 17 – Expected Spring 2015. Abstract: In this paper we seek to shift the interpretation of the word to the very “ratchet” institutions which enact a kind a violence in the lives of Black women, rendering them invisible and at times, leading to what some deem “ratchet” reactions. The purpose of this paper is not to determine whether ratchet behavior should be viewed as acceptable or not, or even to engage in a debate about whether such portrayals of Black women should be on television. Instead we ask, what is ratchet about such institutions as heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism? How does this lead to the silencing and oppression of Black women and how might Black women use ratchetness in order to be made (hyper)visible? Moving beyond giving attention simply to Black women’s behaviors and bodies in order to examine the very structures and institutions, allows researchers and practitioners to ask new questions about the rules and hegemonic norms that govern Black women.