By: Lamarrius Danley
A post on the resilient and powerful essences of the black women, and their many obstacles. Although the odds have not been in their favor due to patriarchy and white supremacy, they have often if not always laid a path for the world to follow. It is truly amazing to witness the strength of a Black Women.
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Angela Davis -
Shirley Chisholm -
Toni Morrison -
Rosa Parks
Formal Introduction and Disclaimer
As a Black Man, we must understand that we are the “white men” of the Black community with the favor of privilege. With that level of privilege we must realize that if we are not fighting for the protection, the growth, and the understanding of the those like Black Women or the Black LGBTQ+ so that we will be equal across the varies spectrum of our community, we are just as bad as those we call the oppressor. As I decided to write this post, I must understand that I do not have a right to speak solely on Black Women’s experiences, and because of this, I have taken the time to talk to Black Women to get a better understanding of what it means to be one. Each of those Women will be mentioned as you read. As Jeannisa Glover, an incoming freshman legal communications major, speech pathology minor from South Flordia, said, “I feel that in education, Black Women are often overlooked and seen as inferior to their peers. It’s already hard being Black and trying to prove you’re are just as good but being a Black Women adds to that challenge”, we must understand that the treatment of Black Women has to stop, but It starts with a change in Black Men. Warning: This post is very long, yet it is essential to read, and I hope you do.
Can She feel?
As a double minority, Black Women suffer the likes of patriarchy and white supremacy, from three social hierarchies: Societies Hierarchy with white men being on top, The Black communities Hierarchy with cis-gendered Black Men on top, and The Women hierarchy with White Women on top. All of which Black Women are at the bottom. As you can see, before this blog starts, Black Women are hit from all sides with the likes of oppression and the efforts to both belittle and hinder their voices of social and systematic change for the liberation of Black Women; often pushing the concept of Black Women protection aside for the holistic approach on racism Black Men and the community face as a whole. Along with this, I have noticed that people in today’s society try to tell Black Women how to be Black Women. It is unfair and protrudes to the notion that Black Women need guidance to be “accepted.” In this section, I will review a few damaging stereotypes of Black Women that have been passed down from the fruit of the slavery tree. Warning: The images that follow under each subheading are posted to give a perspective of how Americans and the world viewed Black Women.
“The Mammy”
In 1940, Gone With the Wind was released, and with that release came to the notion of a reevaluation of Black Women, a reimage that painted Black Women as the Great Bearer of All Burdens, who would not only bear these burdens but live to do so. As Nylah, an incoming psychology major on a Pre Law Track at Howard University, said, “The whole Black Women trope are so harmful to us (a reference to Black Women). It allows us to be seen as people who can take anything and don’t need to be protected causing us to only be able to protect ourselves”, we can see that the “mammy” stereotype still manages today. Along with this stereotype, it became an expectation that Black Women were not capable of mental illness or things of that nature. Instead, they were inhuman when it came to emotion and saddening expression. Thus decrease the seriousness and emergency of supporting and protecting Black Women Mental Health.
“The Sapphire”
From the early periods of the 1900s, there was a notion of the sapphire that portrayed Black Women as aggressive, assertive, and sassy individuals who were emasculating and condensing to those in their inner family circle. Sometimes it would extend to a dominating factor as to “humiliating” the Black Man, which was viewed as humorous to white audiences who watched shows like Amos and Andy. This stereotype may seem foreign by the name, but it is non-other than the modern-day “Angry Black Women” stereotype. Consequently, this connotation allows one to disregards a Black Women’s message of change from her passion into issues of negative assertiveness that one takes as a joke. It is seen over and over again in society from Mrs. Obama to Serena Williams.
“The Jezebel”
The Jezebel was often the title given to enslaved Black Women by slave owners as the labeled those women as sexually aggressive and promiscuous. Because of the lack of understanding of Africa’s culture with individual freedoms like semi-nude women, White men began using racist views of lewd and over-sexualization of these women to be sexually manipulative, to justify their future enslavement and rape. It is reflective to the concept of “she must want because she dressed, looked, and acted a certain way” which is used today in several incidents to justify rape; however, statistically, Black Women are still not believed to be sexually assaulted at higher rates than other women due to the “Jezebel” image. Still, all women deal with the Jezebel’s notion, but It has impacted the lives of Black Women more. Despite this being awful, this is also the reason why many oversexualize Black girls. So before you began to call Black Women H*, TH ect, you must realize where the sexual exploitation of Black Women started, and do not feed into this issue as so many rappers do today and society. We also saw this with the Anita Hill versus Clarence Thomas, as individuals not only refuse to believe her but also ridiculed her.
“The Matriarch”/ “The Welfare Queen”
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Both the matriarch and the welfare queen stereotype were intersected and is why I put both in the same section. To start, both the matriarch and the Welfare Queen began during the Ronald Regan Era. Once allowed to obtain welfare, welfare recipients more so single Black Women, were demonized along with the children they had as Ronald Regan addressed them as “women with countless children collecting welfare checks under numerous names, driving Cadillacs, and trading food stamps for cigarettes and alcohol.” They were also seen as an individual who was a “jezebel” out of the sole reasoning to have children for monetary gain and governmental dependency because of laziness. This stigma is still upheld to welfare and EBT recipients today even though statistically, white people use those social programs more. Consequently, it makes it seems as Black People who use social programs are dependent and White People who use them “need help.”
Can She be the beholder of her Beauty?
Afro-Centric beauty has been challenged and questioned since colonization. Eurocentrism often questions the likes of “civilization” when addressing Black Beauty. For instance, society has seen natural black hair as unkempt and unprofessional. As you read this session, you will that Afro-Centricism became a political statement to those who did not understand the concept of embracing your ancestral traits and decided to tame our culture.
Colorism
Colorism originated from the house negro versus the field negro concept were slave owners viewed lighter-skinned slaves ( a product of rape) as delicate and more “trustworthy” which allowed them to be in the house than the darker slaves who were seen as “savages” and not award that same privilege. This has modernized into the ” I prefer Lightskins over dark” or the constant notion of wanting a foreign or lighter-skinned child. As Nylah also said, “People [have an] obsession with humbling dark skin/brown skin women and laughing at our pain,” we can see that Dark Skin women are looked at as less than their counterparts. This may lead to several mental issues that dark skin women may face, including anxiety, depression, and discomfort. Colorism also intersects with the views of Afro-American traits such as the nose and lips. These traits are often looked at as less attractive. It is notable to mention that darker-skinned women have a harder time getting jobs than their counterparts.
Body
The body structure of Black Women has been criticized for generations. For instance, one can refer to Sarah Baartman who body was put on display at a museum in Paris until 1974. She was associated with freak shows because of her natural curves. Society has harped down on Black Women in terms of clothes that show off their natural curves as if they can help it. We see this body discrimination in schools as a thicker, more curvy girl wearing tights in school is more of a penalty than a girl with fewer curves. Even as society has progressed, culture appropriation has allowed non-black and traditional non-curvy women to get surgeries to acquire such thickness without understanding nor experiences the same disparities as Black Women.
Hair
Black Hair is so unique as it defies gravity, can be shifted into any hairstyle and has various curl patterns. Enslaved Black individuals used different braiding styles to create road maps of freedom in each other’s heads. Even though Black Hair has been resilient as its holder, it has had a tricky time finding its place in society. To adhere to Eurocentric styles’ standards in the past, Black Women straightened and went through additional troubles that may have resulted in hair damage to assimilate into society. A notion that was started for the survival and the success of the Black Women; however, as Noah-Simone Blackwell, human development major from Jersey said, “The number one lie that they told Black women is that we need a perm to tame our hair,” we must see that assimilation did not last so long as the natural hair movement rose over and over again. To mention, this Is not equivalent to women wearing weave in today’s time. No, Black Women today are not wearing weave to look nor be like white women, but instead is a free expression of how creative Black Women can be. Please do not try to use that false narrative. At last, although society still may love Black Hair, Black Women have fought for legislation ( how crazy society has to be, not want you to wear your natural hair) to wear their hair. As Alexia, a psychology major from South Holand, Illinois, by way of vegas, said, ” To this day, I still have to type in hairstyles for black women in google,” we must understand that Black Hair still needed to be taken seriously and given its proper recognition.
Will She Survive Child-Birth?
As society seeks to remove the statues of confederate soldiers and racist history, we need to ask for the removal of the “father” of gynecology, James Marion Sim. He performed inhumane and cruel research on Black Women without anesthesia, as he believed Black Women did not feel pain. This same belief has damaged and killed a lot of Black Women today, as many healthcare professionals do not think so Black Women. We see that with Serena Willams. Due to a lack of medical insurance, medical disparities, racism, and lack of compassion, African American Women suffer higher pregnancy mortality rates than any other ethnic group. As Lauryn Campbell, a freshman biology major from Oakland, California, explains to me her experience in a hospital and how the professionals did not look like her. I understand that the need for more Black Doctors and Nurses is vital for the survival of the Black Women and the Black child.
Conclusion/ Final Message
Conclusively, before you decided to speak on Black Women, ask yourself, are you a Black Women and if your speaking is positive and uplifting. Society must understand that it is an almost impenetrable glass ceiling. Black women must break before even reaching the pivotal point of using their voices. It is disrespectful to belittle the struggles of Black Women who are over-sexualized and has their femininity demonized; their passion for forcing change is seen as anger and rage only, and physical attributes are always challenged. This blog post is long but leaves out so many significant contributions and achievements that Black Women have conquered. However, after glorifying those accomplishments, we have to acknowledge the struggle of just living as a Black Women. As Black Men, we should not only value these women but protect them and listen to their issues. As Tupac said, “Do we hate our women?” If we do not, then why does society act like it?
