Mammies and Matriarchs: Tracing Images of the Black Female in Popular Culture 1950s to Present

Sewell, Christopher J. P.

doi:10.1007/s12111-012-9238-x

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…However, Clem's maternal role in the series could be read as problematic; she is called a 'natural' mother by older male characters who themselves 'failed' at fatherhood and she forgoes her own childhood and safety in order to care for a baby, and so is presented as self-sacrificing. This is particularly important to note because she is a woman of colour, so her story could fit into the long history of women of colour caring for other peoples' children as household slaves or as nannies and their continued portrayal as such in popular culture (Sewell, 2013). However, Clem took on a maternal role of her own volition, and although she had many opportunities to abandon AJ or let others take him, she refused to stop fighting for him.…”

Section: The Walking Dead: the Final Season (In Which Clem Is The Newmentioning

confidence: 99%

“No one gives you a rulebook to raise a kid”: Adoptive Motherhood in The Walking Dead Video Game Series

Stang

2019

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This article closely examines the representation of adoptive motherhood in Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead video game series. It builds off previous research which has examined The Walking Dead: Season One as an example of a ‘dadified’ game to explore the ways adoptive motherhood is represented throughout the series. More specifically, this article focuses on the series’ protagonist, Clementine, as she develops from a daughter-figure to a mother-figure. Overall, this article argues that although TWD has been discussed primarily as a dadified game and much of the extant literature on the series has focused on Lee as a father-figure, TWD series can also be read as a ‘momified’ narrative. While there are several problematic aspects in the way Clementine is portrayed, the series is notable in that it explores adoptive maternity, centralizes the experiences of non-white characters, and reinforces the message that family is not limited to blood relations. Because of its centralization of Clementine – a young, potentially queer, adoptive mother of colour – TWD series should be considered as a maternal narrative, rather than only categorized as another dadified series.

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Section: The Walking Dead: the Final Season (In Which Clem Is The Newmentioning

confidence: 99%

“No one gives you a rulebook to raise a kid”: Adoptive Motherhood in The Walking Dead Video Game Series

Stang

2019

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“…Even more alarming is that these grandmothers are experiencing a set of specific stressors in response to the responsibility of solely raising their grandchildren (Kelley, Whitley & Campos, 2013;Smith et al, 2008;Smith, Cichy & Montoro-Rodriguez, 2015). The admittance of such stress is striking given that historically, African American grandmothers have had a plethora of familial as well as community responsibilities, in addition to raising biological and nonbiological children and grandchildren (Sewell, 2013). Yet, their social psychological experiences have only recently began to be explored though the phenomenon of custodial grandparenting (Watson & Koblinsky, 2000).…”

Section: Statement Of Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the primary stereotypes that exist for black women, especially those with maternal roles, is that of the strong black matriarch. Which, ironically enough, is a part of the idea that the strong black woman exists as an extension or characteristic of the concept of the black matriarch (Sewell, 2013). Thus, this thesis will explore social stigmas such as the matriarch, as well as the strong black woman, in order to analyze the ways in which these images have aided in producing the strong black matriarch stereotype.…”

Section: Statement Of Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…310, 2013). For example, the mammy was sagacious in the fact that she was knowledgeable of and helpful to the white family in which she provided care (Sewell, 2013). Parkhurst states that, The 'Black Mammy' was a household servant who generally had specific duties to perform.…”

Section: The Mammymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She suggests that the creation of the mammy became the basis upon which all black women are compared. Sewell (2013) writes that the mammy is the epitome of black loyalty to white authority. Sewell goes even further in stating that due to the idea that the mammy was considered a safe person, someone who does her job in taking care of the white family no matter what, she was often overlooked, which further marginalized her in the dominant society.…”

Section: The Mammymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

African American grandmothers as the black matriarch : you don't live for yourself.

Stanford¹

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Story for being flexible with me as figured out specific topics and dates. Most importantly, I'd like to thank my family, my mother, Bernadette, my father, Arthur W., sister, Tiara, my grandfather, Arthur L., as well as all of my other family for supporting me in my academic journey and encouraged me to continue my research when I was emotional for the loss of my own grandmothers. Lastly, I'd like to thank my cohort, LeAnna, Janea and Amber for being a constant support system for me.

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Beyond poto mitan: Challenging the “Strong Black Woman” archetype and allowing space for tenderness

Dubuisson

Schuller

2021

Feminist Anthropology

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In this article, we contend that the “strong Black woman” archetype constricts expressions of Black womanhood and girlhood and thus limits individual and collective liberation. We maintain that strength need not preclude tenderness, highlighting two forms: wounded tenderness—a raw and aching feeling pointing to the vulnerability of human beings—and liberated tenderness, a practice of meeting woundedness with embodied awareness and gentleness. We foreground the concept of poto mitan to illustrate how the “strong Black woman” archetype upholds virtues of strength at the expense of tenderness, thus taking up Faye Harrison's call to theorize from “ex‐centric sites.” Translated as “center posts,” poto mitan describes the architecture of spaces for traditional ancestor worship and conventionally refers to Haitian women's central role as pillars of the family and community. We begin this article by discussing the limits of this discourse within feminist scholarship and activism. Second, we examine how this discourse both engenders and limits liberation for Haitian rural women. By concluding with “tenderness as method,” we argue that feminist anthropologists working with Black women must not only attune themselves to how discourses and performances of strength may occlude liberation but also call on our own vulnerability to allow space for liberated tenderness.

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Mammies and Matriarchs: Tracing Images of the Black Female in Popular Culture 1950s to Present

Cited by 24 publications

References 6 publications

“No one gives you a rulebook to raise a kid”: Adoptive Motherhood in The Walking Dead Video Game Series

“No one gives you a rulebook to raise a kid”: Adoptive Motherhood in The Walking Dead Video Game Series

African American grandmothers as the black matriarch : you don't live for yourself.

Beyond poto mitan: Challenging the “Strong Black Woman” archetype and allowing space for tenderness

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