As a young Black woman, I have been afforded many opportunities in life that were not necessarily given to previous generations of women in my family. Some of these opportunities include: receiving a Bachelors degree from a prestigious college, studying abroad in different countries, learning and mastering a second language, and having the opportunity to attend graduate school. Each of these experiences, and those from my childhood, has helped in my transformation into the young woman I am today. As a student who decided to major in Sociology in both my undergraduate and graduate career, my research interest focuses on women in marginalized communities. Thus, my current research focuses on the contemporary Black woman and the different spaces that she must negotiate within society today.
The conversation surrounding Black women has been a focus in the realm of academia and the media for some time now. Many individuals have been introduced to “headliners” such as: The Angry Black Woman, The Hottentot Venus: Video Vixen, and The Single Mother on Welfare. Each of these “headliners” has portrayed Black women in a negative light. These perpetuated stereotypes control how Black women are perceived. Columnists and journalists, who write about Black women, can be considered as the public spheres that control how individuals of the black race and other racial groups view Black women. For example, Erin Gloria Ryan, a writer for the Jezebel, wrote an article entitled “Can White Men Fix Black Women’s Relationships” (http://jezebel.com/5828467/can-white-men-fix-black-womens-relationships. In her article Ryan (2011) quotes Wall Street columnist Ralph Richard Banks (a Black man) who describes the plight of Black women. Ryan’s use of Banks as a resource allows individuals to view Black women negatively. In this article, Banks’s diatribe against Black women is not one that I would consider as a direct source in understanding Black women in America.
In order to understand the purpose of this argument, we must first understand the issue with the media describing the plight of Black women, especially black public spheres (i.e. Black men). Black men must be careful in their approach to understanding and discussing issues surrounding Black women because of their already privileged status in relation to the subject matter. According to Jewel Woods in Privilege: A reader (2010),
“The African American community will never overcome the serious issues we face if we as black men do not confront our role in promoting and sustaining male supremacist attitudes and actions” (2010: 28).
I am not arguing that Black women scholars are the only individuals capable of exploring issues surrounding black womanhood. Instead, I would like to stress that all scholars are capable of exploring black womanhood, however, they should become more conscious of how they portray Black women to the world. Thus, acknowledge their own positionality, their standpoint, shaped by race and gender. Black women are more than “The Angry Black Woman,” “The Hottentot Venus: Video Vixen,” and “The Single Mother on Welfare.” These representations of Black women reduce the complexity of real black women’s lives to a one-dimensional image.
As I close this argument, please remember that individual black people do not speak for or represent the whole race, and black peoples experiences, and obstacles are different based on gender. If we do not recognize the impact of gender oppression on Black women, we contribute to reinforcing gender inequality within the black community.
What do you think?
Bibliography
Holmes, Rachel. 2007. “The Hottentot Venus-Sarah Baartman.” The Guardian. http://www.arlindo-correia.org/venus.html
Kimmel, Michael S. and Abby L. Ferber. 2010. Privilege: A Reader, Philadelphia, PA: Westview Press.
Ryan, Erin Gloria. 2011. “Can White Men Fix Black Women’s Relationships?” Jezebel. http://jezebel.com/5828467/can-white-men-fix-black-womens-relationships
Bio: LaToya Council is a recent graduate of Spelman College with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology, located in Atlanta, Georgia. During her time at Spelman College, LaToya wrote her senior thesis on “Heteronormativity and Patriarchy; A Study on Spelman Students Attitudes towards Interracial Dating.” This particular study peaked LaToya’s interest in studying black womanhood, and the different spaces that black women must negotiate within society today. Currently, LaToya is a first-year graduate student in the Sociology department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. LaToya’s research interests are race and ethnicity, and gender stratification. LaToya enjoys sociology, and the many opportunities she is given to engage in dialogue with esteemed sociologists.
Comments
Where is the Truth?
The idea that the complexity of people's lives are reduced to single generalizations and stereotypes are not just limited to black women. It is a nation wide, even world wide, crisis that people are having their stories and voices removed to them due to stereotypes that many people still strengthen, whether intentional or not. Posts like this that call attention to the mistake of creating assumptions in people about others are a step in the right direction and change will come when more and more people realize that stereotypes are false and incomplete and when they become open to hearing all of the different stories that are out there. There is much less of a norm than these generalizations would have us believe.
In Defense of Academia
Columnist, journalist, and scholars are not the only people who control how individuals within a society view black women. It can be argued that popular media, social media, and television play a much bigger role in shaping those views and perpetuating stereotypes. Unfortunately, popular culture has a much stronger role in shaping and influencing everyday society than the academic world. Scholars are not painting the image of black women in our minds; comedians, bloggers, actors, musicians and athletes have created that image long ago and popular media perpetuates those images. Everyone can agree that the stereotypes and gender roles that black women are unfair, but it is not ok to blame the plight of the black woman on a lack of effort by anyone within the scholarly community.
Truth
The media plays a huge role in shaping our views of the people who live in our society. It not only shapes our view of the way women should behave but also our view of the way black women should behave. It does seem important that black women try to go against these stereotypes rather than embrace them. It would take a social movement in order to change the way in which black women are perceived in our society today.