This is a blog supported by students in Dr. Andre E Johnson's African and African American Studies classes at the University of Memphis. It is open to anyone wanting to comment.
While I am itching to get my hands on "Sister Citizen," I am still left wondering why we as Black women can study other Black women until we are blue in the face, but I have rarely seen solutions or programs offered up. When they are, they are seen as "welfare projects" or symbolic programs. We can study these women forever, come up with whatever scholarly label we can think of, but what is that helping?
Yes, we have the "strong Black woman" but I don't think that's a response to the so-called three stereotypes, I believe that Black women have simply adapted to having the world set upon their shoulders and have become hardened by it. Unfortunately, in the process we lost our feminism. Take a Caucasian woman and a Black woman, give them the same list of accomplishments (wife, mother, company CEO, cook, housekeeper) and you will get two different labels: The Caucasian woman will be labeled as the woman who can do it all, while the Black woman will be labeled as the "strong Black woman." Why is this? Make them a single parent doing the same thing, and the Caucasian will be praised for her efforts, while the Black woman will be praised for not being on welfare. It is a frustrating subject. I would love to see Dr. Perry expound on this.
While I am itching to get my hands on "Sister Citizen," I am still left wondering why we as Black women can study other Black women until we are blue in the face, but I have rarely seen solutions or programs offered up. When they are, they are seen as "welfare projects" or symbolic programs. We can study these women forever, come up with whatever scholarly label we can think of, but what is that helping?
ReplyDeleteYes, we have the "strong Black woman" but I don't think that's a response to the so-called three stereotypes, I believe that Black women have simply adapted to having the world set upon their shoulders and have become hardened by it. Unfortunately, in the process we lost our feminism. Take a Caucasian woman and a Black woman, give them the same list of accomplishments (wife, mother, company CEO, cook, housekeeper) and you will get two different labels: The Caucasian woman will be labeled as the woman who can do it all, while the Black woman will be labeled as the "strong Black woman." Why is this? Make them a single parent doing the same thing, and the Caucasian will be praised for her efforts, while the Black woman will be praised for not being on welfare. It is a frustrating subject. I would love to see Dr. Perry expound on this.