“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman.” - Malcolm X
Throughout American history, the Black woman has remained the backbone of society and the Black community, especially. For her endeavors, she’s been rewarded with the expectations that come with the role of being the “Strong Black Woman.” This stereotype has caused a lot of pain to the Black woman, despite what the name suggests.
She’s unbreakable, resilient, independent… almost superhuman. Despite the adversity she faces, the Black woman is supposed to project strength and suppress any type of “negative” emotion, like sadness. The role of the Strong Black Woman is pushed by the media, parents, and the Black community to be internalized and accepted by Black girls while they are young. They grow up feeling like they must hold back their emotions to avoid appearing weak.
She is confrontational, emotionally restrained, unattractive, and unloveable as she focuses on her success and being a caregiver to others. She becomes consumed with solving other people’s problems and is left with no time to take care of herself. She puts her own problems on the back burner with little to no concern about how others’ problems will affect her physical and mental health. Living up to these expectations leaves pressure to live up to being strong while having to constantly police one’s feelings.
She is constantly reminded of intersectionality, the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression including gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. Black women face double the amount discrimination with race and gender, but are pushed to have a drive to succeed despite the limited resources they are given. This can cause Maladaptive Perfectionism, perfectionism that can include setting unrealistic standards, overreacting when not reaching the standard, and always needing to be in control. And if they don't meet their goal, they feel like unsuccessful failures or unworthy. Because in expecting them to succeed, you might be setting them up to fail. This can cause them to be overly concerned about mistakes and force them to face higher levels of stress, anxiety, and even depression.
This stereotype also brings forward another: “the aggressive Black woman.” Black women are already masculinized, but this trope forces that she is stronger than a man and less feminine than other women. Especially when she is put in the forefront of movements and social injustices, like the BLM protests. For Black women, their image is destroyed, and they are never seen in the same light as women of other races. White femininity, on the other hand, is valued for being beautiful, fragile, and vulnerable. The expectation to be a Strong Black Woman at all times becomes internalized, and tears down the ability for Black Women to show the weakness that their white counterparts are allowed to show.
The strong Black woman is not the only stereotype that puts Black women into boxes. There is also the mammy (an older caregiver to white families), the Jezebel (a promiscuous and evil woman), and the Sapphire (a stubborn, bossy, and hateful woman). These, just like the strong Black woman trope, rid us of humanity and promote the idea that the only role Black women can hold is that of unbreakable strength.
Black women are diverse not only in character, but in range of emotions. There is nothing wrong with a Black woman being strong, but when a Black woman is only looked at for her strength, the statement becomes more negative than positive.
She’s unbreakable, resilient, independent… almost superhuman. Despite the adversity she faces, the Black woman is supposed to project strength and suppress any type of “negative” emotion, like sadness. The role of the Strong Black Woman is pushed by the media, parents, and the Black community to be internalized and accepted by Black girls while they are young. They grow up feeling like they must hold back their emotions to avoid appearing weak.
She is confrontational, emotionally restrained, unattractive, and unloveable as she focuses on her success and being a caregiver to others. She becomes consumed with solving other people’s problems and is left with no time to take care of herself. She puts her own problems on the back burner with little to no concern about how others’ problems will affect her physical and mental health. Living up to these expectations leaves pressure to live up to being strong while having to constantly police one’s feelings.
She is constantly reminded of intersectionality, the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression including gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. Black women face double the amount discrimination with race and gender, but are pushed to have a drive to succeed despite the limited resources they are given. This can cause Maladaptive Perfectionism, perfectionism that can include setting unrealistic standards, overreacting when not reaching the standard, and always needing to be in control. And if they don't meet their goal, they feel like unsuccessful failures or unworthy. Because in expecting them to succeed, you might be setting them up to fail. This can cause them to be overly concerned about mistakes and force them to face higher levels of stress, anxiety, and even depression.
This stereotype also brings forward another: “the aggressive Black woman.” Black women are already masculinized, but this trope forces that she is stronger than a man and less feminine than other women. Especially when she is put in the forefront of movements and social injustices, like the BLM protests. For Black women, their image is destroyed, and they are never seen in the same light as women of other races. White femininity, on the other hand, is valued for being beautiful, fragile, and vulnerable. The expectation to be a Strong Black Woman at all times becomes internalized, and tears down the ability for Black Women to show the weakness that their white counterparts are allowed to show.
The strong Black woman is not the only stereotype that puts Black women into boxes. There is also the mammy (an older caregiver to white families), the Jezebel (a promiscuous and evil woman), and the Sapphire (a stubborn, bossy, and hateful woman). These, just like the strong Black woman trope, rid us of humanity and promote the idea that the only role Black women can hold is that of unbreakable strength.
Black women are diverse not only in character, but in range of emotions. There is nothing wrong with a Black woman being strong, but when a Black woman is only looked at for her strength, the statement becomes more negative than positive.
