Addressing negative stereotypes that persist for African American men and women and their consequences

How do Stereotypes affect Black women?

Stereotypes and ideological misrepresentations are used to justify oppression amd mistreatment.

What are some examples of historical stereoypes of Black women?

• Jezebel

• Mammy

• Matriarch

• Sapphire

What is the Jezebel?

• a loose woman

• hypersexual

• animalistic

What is the Mammy stereotype?

• Asexual, subservient mother figure

• non threatening

• accepts her status quo and socializes children to follow suit

What is the Matriarch stereotype?

polar opposite of mammy

• anti-mother

• lazy

• unfeminine

• emasculating

• socializes children to be lazy and promiscuous

  • Welfare Queen

What is the Sapphire stereotype?

• similar to matriarch- unfeminine and emasculating 

• sassy

• loud

• supposed to be funny and entertaining 

What does Lawson Bush address in “Ain’t I a Man?”?

• historical, socio political events that address if Black men have gained their manhood

• Male studies

  • fairly new (70s and 80s beginning)

• sex role development being tied to social movements

  • women’s movement

  • gay liberation

  • men’s movement

  • moral majority movement and civil rights

  • african center movement

Why/how does Bush think that Black men have been emasculated?

• slavery caused situation where Black men could not protect themselves/families

• matriarchal system within Black communities by absent father creating “overpowering Black woman” within patriarchal society 

• economic oppression → men’s inability to provide for families in societies where manhood and provider role are closely tied

How are Slavery and Black Manhood tied together?

• patriarchal framework

• guided by idea of white supremacy

  • anyone who threatens white domination → destroyed

• slavery systematically eliminating control by any “upriser” or leader of dissent against white man control

• black men emasculated dude to inability to protect black women

What are bushes views of the matriarchal system and Black manhood?

1. absence of Black father + powerful Black woman causes social problems to black community and black men. back men left weakened

2. men can’t learn to be men due to the lack of black male role models as a result of economic depression

What is the myth of the Back matriarch? What is rationale of this?

• black feminists argue that the black matriarch myth was created to foster division in African families.

rationale: there’s never been a matriarchal system since women haven’t held social or political power in the U.S.

What is the last view about matriarch and blackmanhood?

• absence of fathers, belief of not enough appropriate role models, and female-headed households represent a type of influence held by Black women who can socialize Black males

What stereotypes emerged for Black men in economic oppression? Why?

• emergence of Black power movement created a change in Black man’s psyche

  • virile, sexually potent, angry, economically disenfranchised due to black of manhood

  • hypermale

manhood and ability to provide are economically tied together and barriers to this lead to Black men being unable to be seen as men.

How are black men not being seen as men?

Black manhood and the inability to provide for the family c

What was the “Ain’t I a woman” study?

• investigated perceived microaggressions among Black women at majority white university

What were the three core themes identified in the “Ain’t I a Woman” study?

1. projected stereotypes

2. silenced and marginalized

3. assumptions about style and beauty

How did projected stereotypes affect Black women?

• projected stereotypes objectify Black women and lead to sexualization and anger

  • jezebel leads to sexualization and objectification

  • participants felt exoticied and maniuplated due to stereotypes

• angry black woman stereotype pressures women to censor emotions and avoid negative perceptions

How were Black women feeling silenced and marginalized? 

• participants felt their authority and intellect were being put into question often

• many experiences of being talked over or ignored in group settings

• invisibility in both social and academic contexts leading to isolation 

What assumptions were being made about Black women’s style and aesthetics?

• communication style labeled as loud with much “nonverbal expressiveness” 

• assumptions about beauty (body style, hairstyle, facial features) led to feelings of being judged/misunderstood 

  • impact of these assumptions contributed to experiencing microaggressions in daily lives

Think about some ways Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes addresses the stereotypes of Black men and women