“I love the way a strong African American woman uplifts her Brothers, Her Man, and the men in [our] community. The way they show strength and keep prayers covered around their families.”
“I love the intellectual conversations, the strength in which y’all show in hard times, the Beauty, the love y’all show us Black Men! The confidence y’all display, I just love BLACK WOMEN!”
“I love the mental and spiritual strength of black women!”
“I love my black woman for their beauty, their strength & loving passion and support.”
“Owwwee let me tell you black Queens something. I love you. I love the confidence that exudes when you walk and talk. I love that it looks like God kissed your skin and made it perfection. I love that your strength and your heart is unmatched…”
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These are some of the comments that were on The Shade Room’s Instagram page. The black entertainment blog created a post asking black men to drop a compliment for black women, and tell them what they love about them. There were over 24,000 comments, but I decided to include the top ones in this post.
Now if you notice, all of them share the same word, strength. Strength, strength, strength! Strength has been synonymous with black women (it seems like) since the beginning of time. A similar trend was taking place on Twitter, where black men were asked to compliment black women. The entire thread was composed of black men praising their female counterparts for their strength, invincibility, and resilience. Black women were labeled as real-life superheroes who are always there to hold the black community down in times of distress.
Although I don’t doubt that these men’s praises came from a genuine place, I and many black women agree that we’re tired of the “strong black woman” trope. Some would argue that being characterized as strong is a good thing, that it means you have the mentality and willpower to handle any obstacle that comes your way. However, the term strength also takes away your freedom to express emotions, especially frustration and sadness. Strength doesn’t just have the power to redefine your humanity and femininity, but it can completely erase it.
Before I jump into the history of the strong black woman stereotype and why it’s detrimental to black women, I want to shout out LovelyTi and Eloho. This topic isn’t new, but these two beautiful black female YouTubers have brought up the trope recently and I think it’s important to continue discussing it. I highly suggest you check out their channels and other YouTube platforms that discuss black women’s issues.
Now back to the topic at hand. The strong black woman stereotype has historical origins. Black women had to endure the hardships of slavery, colonialism, and systematic oppression because they had no choice. Therefore, suffering in silence shouldn’t be considered a personality trait, but rather a form of survival.
For generations, black women have dealt with emotional and mental trauma. They have been beaten, degraded, tortured, raped, and used in extremely painful medical experiments without their consent during slavery. Oftentimes, they were alone and left without protection because black men were either getting killed, incarcerated or coping with their own psychological issues. Black women felt like they had no choice but to hold the black community down to ensure that it didn’t go extinct.
Over the years, black women’s roles have been transformed. Black women are expected to be the protectors and pillars of the community, with black men no longer taking a share of the responsibility. What was once an unfortunate burden, is now seen as a vital sacrifice. As black people, how many times have we seen our mothers and grandmothers work multiple jobs just to support the family? Or work tirelessly to put their children through college? How many are expected to encourage and uplift their men when they have trouble getting that same support in return? (Disclaimer, this is not saying there aren’t black men who provide too, but at least in my personal experience, and conversations I’ve had with others, black women primarily handle those duties).
Let’s look at the numbers. Studies show that despite comprising only 12.7 percent of the U.S. female population, black women are considered the most educated demographic of Americans. That compares the number of black women enrolled in college to the enrollment percentages of other race-gender groups. Black women also make up over 50 percent of the post secondary degrees among black college graduates. As if that isn’t impressive enough, according to a study done by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, “Black women currently earn about two thirds of all African-American bachelor’s degree awards, 70 percent of all master’s degrees, and more than 60 percent of all doctorates. Black women also hold a majority of all African-American enrollments in law, medical, and dental schools.”
Unfortunately, these numbers don’t translate to black women’s personal lives. As far as health statistics go, brace yourselves because it’s about to get grim. According to ThoughtCo, out of all women, black women are the most susceptible to high blood pressure. Almost half of adult black women suffer from hypertension (at 46 percent), while Hispanic women and white women come in at 29 and 31 percent respectively.
These troubling statistics are due to a host of socioeconomic factors. The African American Policy Institute reports that:
“The stress of anti-Black racism and sexism, coupled with the stress of serving as the primary caretakers of their communities, can take a toll on Black women’s health, even if they have the economic privilege to send their children to good schools, live in a wealthy neighborhood and have a high-level career. In fact, well-educated Black women have worse birth outcomes than white women who haven’t finished high school. Black women are also disproportionately subject to various factors–from poor-quality environments in impoverished neighborhoods, to food deserts to a lack of access to healthcare –that make them more likely to contract life-threatening diseases, from HIV to cancer.”
A college degree doesn’t fare so well in the marriage department either. According to Brookings Institution, marriage rates are declining for black women across the educational spectrum. Meanwhile, white women with an undergraduate degree have higher chances of being married today as they did in 1960. They also state that, “The differences in rates of marriage may in part be due to a shortage of ‘marriageable’ black men, itself a product of high rates of incarceration and early death. (It is worth noting that while there has been a rise in inter-racial marriage, blacks, and black women in particular, remain the least likely to marry someone of a different race.)” Studies further show that if college-educated black women do get married, they typically “marry down” or “settle” for a man without an undergraduate degree.
I don’t want to bog you down with a barrage of statistics, but I wanted to partially illustrate the plight black women face everyday. Black women are expected to uplift an entire community while bearing numerous burdens. The term “strong,” is simply a colorful attempt to justify this treatment so black women won’t complain.
Whether intentional or not, “strong” can also have harmful effects. This stereotype can allow other institutions and races to further bash, degrade, and insult black women with the belief that we’re hardcore enough to take it. These implicit biases of the “strong, unbreakable black woman” can also be found in the medical field. Black women are denied vital access to proper healthcare due to racism and the belief that they can handle any illness. Pregnant black women have a higher risk for medical complications because of neglect in maternal care, but that’s a topic for another post.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how the strong black woman trope can have tremendous psychological effects on black women. Black women feel obligated to suppress their vulnerability and emotions to accommodate the needs of the community. They feel like they have to embody this superwoman persona. Amani M. Allen, associate professor of community health sciences and epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley, said “[women] talked about every day walking out of their houses and putting on their ‘armor’ in anticipation of experiencing racial discrimination.”
According to UC Berkeley, this image of strength can be positive in combating the chronic stress of racial discrimination. However, the intense drive to succeed, perfectionism, and feeling responsible to help others can also exacerbate chronic stress, therefore becoming a liability. This is evident in the Black Lives Matter movement. I’ve seen videos and images of black women on the frontline getting pushed, tear gassed and pepper sprayed. They’ve become the face and spokespeople for the movement, even being depicted in cartoons and posters emulating this same personification of strength. In these drawings it’s usually black (especially darker-skinned) women and girls standing tall in the face of weapons, advocating for the black community. Not saying we can’t go hard for our own, police brutality and the issue of systemic racism affects every member of the black community, regardless of gender. But the media representation of black women has only further promoted the superwoman narrative.
The purpose of this post isn’t to bash or condemn anyone, once again it’s simply my way of contributing to a conversation. I think it’s very important for people to check any implicit biases they have when interacting with black women. We’re human too, there’s moments when we want to break down and show our vulnerability and emotions. It’s also important to combat any psychological trauma black women may experience due to being superwoman. We should embrace and uplift more outlets that promote black women’s femininity so we can dismantle this strong black woman trope once and for all.
Here are some spaces that promote black femininity. If you have anymore suggestions please leave them in the comments!
YouTube Channels:
Lovelyti
Chrissie
I Am Eloho
Paris Milan
Real Talk With Yanie
Queen Chioma
Link to black femininity articles:
http://attcppwtools.org/ResourceMaterials/heinz%20report.pdf
Book(s):
The Black Girl’s Guide To Being Blissfully Feminine
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