Myths, Stereotypes, and Realities of Black Women: A Personal Reflection

Abstract

It is well over a year since the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. His appointment and the aftermath of the hearings remain controversial in the public's eye. The event is credited by feminists for energizing the women's movement. It was a catalyst for significant changes in the 1992 political arena. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of sexual harassment incidents reported. However, Anita Hill `s story represents more than sexual harassment for many Black women. The event serves as a painful reminder of how vulnerable they are especially when it comes to having their stories of sexual abuse heard and taken seriously. This article speaks to that pain and the complexity of understanding racism when entangled with sexism within the Black community.

Prototypes of race and gender: The invisibility of Black women

“…Feminist scholars have long argued that Black women have been left out (e.g., of the civil rights and feminist movements, research on gender and race) and gone unnoticed (Bell, 1992;Brown-Collins & Sussewell, 1986;Davis, 1981;Jones & ShorterGooden, 2003;King, 1988). As bell hooks (1981) eloquently stated:…”

“…The idea that Black women are ''invisible" has long been a theme in feminist writings (Bell, 1992;Davis, 1981;hooks, 1981;King, 1988), and has appeared in recent theoretical work as well (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008). Describing the experiences of individuals with multiple-subordinate-group identities (such as Black women), Purdie-Vaughns and Eibach (2008) suggest that these individuals experience ''intersectional invisibility" and are subject to different outcomes than their more prototypical counterparts -both advantages and disadvantages.…”

The effects of self-protective behaviors on injury for African American women in domestic violence situations

“…Their results suggest that this sample's ability to recall the prevalence and frequency of arrest is comparable to previous studies involving other offender samples. 7 Although the women were less accurate with regards to the placement of events on the event calendar, the spacing of events is not a particularly relevant consideration for this study.…”

“…As a symbol of strength and resilience, this stereotype may influence the perception of domestic violence by African American women and inform their responses to violent situations [7,41]. In domestic violence situations, many African American women do not behave in accordance with the societal expectations of a passive, weeping, and fragile female victim [12,15,31,48].…”

A Model for Predicting Outcomes of Sexual Harassment Complaints by Race and Gender

“…Patterson (1991) in discussing the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas case suggested that it is normal and acceptable for AfricanAmericans to interact with one another on a sexual basis, and that sexual behavior by an African-American man toward an African-American woman may be considered as appropriate regardless of whether or not the behavior is unwanted. Indeed, many have talked about the "code of silence" in the African-American community concerning inappropriate sexual behavior and sexism, and Anita Hill was criticized in the AfricanAmerican community for publicly degrading a member of her own race (Bell 1992;Wyatt 1992). Therefore, we proposed:…”