A STEREOTYPE IS A GENERALIZED BELIEF THAT PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT A PARTICULAR GROUP OR THING. STEREOTYPES CAN USUALLY BE UNFAIR OR NEGATIVE.
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
BLACK WOMEN STEREOTYPES
Mammy
Most Black women stereotypes are rooted in slavery and Jim Crow, a popular stereotype is the mammy stereotype.
During slavery, Black women were not offered any space to become capable and present mothers to their own children, instead these children were typically taken away from their mothers and sent off to other plantations, which severed any mother/child bonds they might have had . when black women were given nurturing roles, it was in a way that degraded them. this created the “mammy’ . the mammy was someone who was seen as a jolly, big black woman, who is a caretaker of white families, she is seen as a good cook, and someone who is not sexual, and is obedient.
The “mammy” first emerged in mainstream media in minstrel shows . Minstrel shows were used as a way to make a mockery out of black people through dancing, and songs, and acting in so called comedic skits. these skits were performed mostly by white actors in blackface, a popular character to portray in minstrel shows was the mammy.
Sapphire
The sapphire stereotype is influenced from again slavery and Jim Crow. During slavery the enslaved people were expected to be completely submissive to the rule of the white master, no matter how oppressive. many slaves resisted this. when it came to the slave women who resisted this oppression they were labeled as troublemakers, and associated with being angry, and loud, and obnoxious, all which brought about the sapphire stereotype.
in modern day we see that the sapphire stereotype is often applied to black women, especially in the workplace and in education environments, where they are seen as aggressors or disobedient girls, and women.
Jezebel
The Jezebel is another slavery construct that paints black women as being promiscuous, often using sex as a means of manipulation of men. the institution of slavery had a need to reproduce slaves, therefore black girls were encourage to have sex and to be familiar with it for their role as future breeders. black women were often stripped naked and examined to determine their reproductive capacity. they were also forced to have sexual relations with slaveholder, relatives, and overseers. often this type of sexual violence was justified using the jezebel stereotype .
The Strong Black Woman
This stereotypes is one that marks black women as resilient and gives them a superwoman type role. It is one that is often favoured by some black women, which they invoke to shut out the historically negative stereotypes, such as the mammy, sapphire, or jezebel. The strong black woman is seen as a positive characterization of perserverance, though this stereotype can cause harm by taking vulnerability, acommodation, and just overall humanity away from black women.
THE EFFECTS
Mental Health
If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself – Gabrielle Union
Black women face general societal devaluation and amidst all this they are seen as strong, resilient, and invincible. This is not beneficial for their mental health, as this strength can become a liability.
What contributes to the stress and mental strain; Discrimination, socio economic status as well as a cultural adaptive strategy of invoking the strong black woman.
Black women face daily discrimination, not only for their blackness but also for their womanhood, this in turn effects the way in which they can progress socio economically. Black women are discriminated in the workplace as employers and mangers can view them unsuitable based on their skin colour and make assumptions about their work habit and whether or not they’ll fit into the culture or not. many of these of these assumptions are driven by the stereotypes, particularly the sapphire stereotype. The sapphire stereotype depicts an image to employers that black women will not be able to follow direction or will be disobedient and be troublemakers causing dysfunction in the workplace. Constant discrimination as well as experiencing poverty can cause one to be unmotivated and feel depressed.
By invoking the strong Black Woman stereotype to the mental health issue we do not offer Black woman vulnerability or accommodation. This is detrimental to how they operate in their daily lives, and how they are interacting with themselves, family, etc. Its important that we, as a society learn to prioritize Black women and that Black women learn to prioritize themselves.
Violence Against Black Women
Black Women face higher rates of violence as compared to their white counterparts. This includes sexual violence, domestic violence and state sanctioned violence.
Stereotypes such as the jezebel can contribute to the violence that black women, as many perpetrators of sexual violence can label black women as naturally promiscuous , and wanting of any sexual advance, even sexual harassment.
The mammy stereotype can be particularly damaging as black women can be seen as mules even for their own men, taking emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, but still having to be submissive because its seen as a duty.
The sapphire stereotype contributes to unjust treatment Black women face from police. In this case black women are depicted as aggressors and troublemakers , which can paint them as guilty and or a reason for suspicion, and with that a justification for violence. Such was the case for Breonna Taylor a Black woman who was shot and killed unjustly by police.in 2020
What to Do?
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” ― Angela Davis
Black community
As a community Black people can release monolithic views on the proper way to be a Black Woman. this view includes respectability, oppositional sexism, as well as queer-phobic ideologies.
It’s okay that black woman dress in whichever style they please, that they can listen to whichever music. it is okay for Black women to be lesbian, trans women, and queer, and quirky. By the community excepting different ways for black women to express themselves it removes the straight jacket, that can impact their mental well-being as well as their socio-economic well being.
Insecure by Issa Rae is a great example of black women being able to be awkward or quirky and not a typical depiction of black women in media.
Allies
Allyship should include not only advocating for rights of black women but also listening and using ones power and or privilege to uplift black women. this means that in social movements such as Black Lives Matter and feminist movement there should be intersectional framework that include uplifting and valuing the voices and experiences of black women.
In the workplace black women should not only be hired at jobs but they should be given equitable treatment and opportunities to rise to leadership positions and not just low status jobs.
And in the mainstream media Black womans should be portrayed diversely, and with respect, and their own creation and contributions to media should be emphasized and awarded the same way as their white counterparts.
Finally
It is important not to label black women with one view especially if this view is negative. people should not make assumptions on Black women’s character, as it perpetuates racism and oppression. We should think as black women as a polylith and not in a monolithic way, as every Black woman has different experiences and different ways of identifying.
references
Christy L Erving, Monisola Vaughan Smith, Disrupting Monolithic Thinking about Black Women and Their Mental Health: Does Stress Exposure Explain Intersectional Ethnic, Nativity, and Socioeconomic Differences?, Social Problems, Volume 69, Issue 4, November 2022, Pages 1046–1067, https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spab022
“Conceptualizing Intersectionality” (Text 71-72)
CRIAW “Intersectional Feminist Frameworks: A Primer” (Text 65-69)
“Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire: Stereotyping Black Women in Media.” YouTube, 26 July 2020, youtu.be/2teqoyPe3TU.
McLean, Yvonne. “’Jezebel’ Is One of Three Common Racial Slurs against All Black Women and Girls.” Baptist News Global, 14 Feb. 2021, baptistnews.com/article/jezebel-is-one-of-three-common-racial-slurs-against-all-black-women-and-girls/.
Sarah J. Jackson (2016) (Re)Imagining Intersectional Democracy from Black Feminism to Hashtag Activism, Women’s Studies in Communication, 39:4, 375-379, DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2016.1226654
Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies Blog 