Initial Development of a Gendered-Racial Socialization Scale for African American College Women

“No [Right] Way to Be a Black Woman”: Exploring Gendered Racial Socialization Among Black Women

“…For generations, Black women have endured the dominant beauty narrative that white skin, a narrow nose, thin lips, and long, straight hair are the standards for beauty to which all women should aspire (Awad et al, 2014;Okazawa-Rey, Robinson, & Ward, 1987;Russell, Wilson, & Hall, 2013). Despite the longevity and pervasiveness of colorism in the United States, little is known about how messages about beauty, skin color, and hair factor into socialization messages about race (D. L. Brown, Blackmon, Rosnick, Griffin-Fennell, & White-Johnson, 2016;Lesane-Brown, Scottham, Nguyen, & Sellers, 2008;Stevenson, Cameron, Herrero-Taylor, & Davis, 2002). Further, only a small amount of research has addressed types of racial socialization messages that are specifically conveyed to Black girls and young women regarding the meaning and importance of their skin color and hair (i.e., colorism; Leonard, 2009), even though these physical characteristics are core parts of femininity and gender socialization for all women.…”

Black Girl Blues: The Roles of Racial Socialization, Gendered Racial Socialization, and Racial Identity on Depressive Symptoms among Black Girls

“…This recognition is important, considering Black adolescent girls report disparate amounts of depressive symptoms (Kann et al 2018). Grounded in Intersectionality Theory, scholars contend that Black girls may benefit even more from gendered racial socialization because the messages center around the realities of being both Black and woman (Brown et al 2017). The implications of gendered racial socialization, however, have not yet been examined among adolescents.…”

“…There is preliminary evidence that suggests that gendered racial socialization messages are distinct from general racial socialization messages and that the two may differentially impact the racial identity attitudes of Black women (Jones and Day 2018) and young girls (Thomas et al 2011). More specifically, gendered racial socialization may be more effective in shaping attitudes and developmental outcomes among Black girls than general racial socialization (Brown et al 2017;Thomas et al 2013). These findings align with Intersectionality Theory, which contends that the experiences and wellbeing of Black women are determined by their intersecting gender and racial identities.…”

“…These types of socialization are not mutually exclusive and Black girls can receive messages of pride and internalized oppression simultaneously. Gendered racial pride and empowerment messages encourage Black girls and women to feel positively about themselves (i.e., "You should be proud to be a Black woman"; Brown et al 2017). This dimension was examined because it is most similar to the general racial socialization messages that endorse racial pride (Stevenson et al 2002), which have been associated with higher selfesteem and fewer depressive symptoms among Black youth (Rivas-Drake et al 2014b).…”

“…This dimension was examined because it is most similar to the general racial socialization messages that endorse racial pride (Stevenson et al 2002), which have been associated with higher selfesteem and fewer depressive symptoms among Black youth (Rivas-Drake et al 2014b). The second dimension, internalized gendered racial oppression, refers to whether and how frequently one's parents speak negatively about Black women (i.e., Black women have bad attitudes; Brown et al 2017). Prior research suggests that hearing oppressive messages from parents increases the likelihood that Black women will internalize negative attitudes about themselves (Davis Tribble et al 2019), which has been associated with symptoms of depression (Jerald et al 2017).…”