Carolyn West categorizes the Angry Black Woman (ABW) as a variation on the "Sapphire" stereotype or, colloquially, "Sistas with Attitude".[4] She defines the pervasive Sapphire/ABW image as "a template for portraying almost all Black women" and as serving several purposes. West paraphrases Melissa V. Harris-Perry who contends, "...because [Angry Black Women's] passion and righteous indignation is often misread as irrational anger, this image can be used to silence and shame Black women who dare to challenge social inequalities, complain about their circumstances, or demand fair treatment".[4][5]
Author and Professor of Law at Columbia University and at the University of California, Los AngelesKimberlé Crenshaw defined and pioneered the analysis of the term "intersectionality" which describes this dual conflict experienced by black women specifically. In her TED talk, Crenshaw explains that black people experience a unique discrimination from white people, and women experience a unique discrimination from men.[6] Black women, consequently, experience a unique form of discrimination from black men and white women and cannot only be judged based on the singularities of race or gender.
Sapphire stereotype as source
Sapphire is a term associated with the most dominant portrayals of Black women. According to the stereotype, Sapphires were perceived as malicious and stubborn, with an overbearing nature. Aside from being depicted as unnecessarily loud and violent, Sapphires were also known to have an insatiable desire for African-American men. The Sapphire is thought to be closely related to the Mammy, though instead of a comforting demeanor, she is far more sexualized. The Sapphire is often seen as abusive, possessing a strong need to dominate, and looking for opportunities to project her own unhappiness upon others. The Sapphire poses as a persistent nagger, complaining not in hopes of a solution, but rather because she herself is bitter.
Negative caricatures of Black women historically justified their exploitation. The Sapphire archetype painted enslaved women as impure, strong, masculine, dominant, and aggressive who drove their children and partners away.[7] This archetype characterizes the Black woman as experiencing disappointment, displeasure, bitterness or rage because of her significant other. The term has also been generalized to refer to Black women who show extreme emotion. It was utilized as a means to prove oppression was not as imminent of an issue, if Whites accepted Black women who acted according to this caricature.
The sexuality of the Jezebel stereotype
The Jezebel is a stereotype used to refer to fair-skinned, slimmer, and lighter-eyed Black women, becoming hyper-sexualized by America and its media soon after the Mammy trope began its decline. Similar to the Sapphire, this trope was used as a justification for the harassment and assaults against Black women, as this painted them as inherently tempestuous and beguiling. Mass Media plays an integral part in displaying Jezebel stereotypes in a modern context. Jezebel has grown to encompass new sexual scripts, such as the Gold Digger and the Freak.[8] These new sexual scripts within Hip Hop and Rap, have gained momentum in popular culture and have gained considerable influence. Unfortunately for young black girls, these scripts have reduced their agency within their sexuality and significantly affect their treatment by others. The exposure to social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more have created an environment where children learn their behaviors from people online.
The Gold Digger is a prolific figure within hip-hop and pop culture. The idea is that a woman, usually a black woman in the context of Hip Hop culture, will use sex to gain their financial needs and desires from men.[8] Men are there to serve financial purposes, and when they can longer provide, the Gold Digger uses sex to acquire a man who can. The 2018 viral song, "Act Up" by City Girls utilizes this theme in some of its first lines, "Stripes on my ass so he calls this pussy Tigger, fuckin' on a scammin' ass, rich ass, ni**a." The Gold Digger sexual script has been exemplified in many rap songs by both women and men. Rapper Trina in her 2000 song "Da Baddest Bitch" demonstrates the Gold Digger lifestyle through her lyrics such as: "The bigger the bank, the bigger the Benz, the better the chance to get close to his rich friends" and "Bank accounts in the Philippines. Blank note to take everything".[8]
Unlike the Gold Digger, the Freak doesn't seek financial security in exchange for sex but instead seeks nothing but to satiate her intense sexual hunger. A Freak carries no emotional ulterior motive and searches for sex "in any place, any position, and with any person".[8] Although often described as a sexually liberated woman who takes pride in her sexual identity, the patriarchal undertones of her existence cannot be ignored. The Jezebel is described as "wanting to please men; only by doing this would they achieve both sexual gratification and personal satisfaction".[8] So, even if a woman seeks sex for her satisfaction, it is still for the benefit of men. This is demonstrated within Rick James' 1981 song "Super Freak," where he speaks of a "very kinky girl...the kind you don't take home to mother".[8] He acknowledges his enjoyment of being with a "freak'. Still, he degrades her existence by deeming her unworthy of meeting his mother. This amoral depiction is also symbolized in Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "Bitches Ain't Shit" anthem (1992), which is an explicit telling of a few occurrences of women they have experienced being both the prowling Jezebel and the aforementioned Gold Digger.
The Jezebel presents as a slave construct, depicting Black women as "promiscuous" and "lustful". During slavery, lighter skinned women were seen as more worthy concubines to wealthy slave owners, whereas darker skinned women were more worthy for harsher labor such as field work. These slave constructs still prevail in modern contexts. With the creation and establishment of Hip Hop and Rap as a culture, Black youth found themselves in a position of creating and defining what was cool and trendy but still trapped by neocolonialism. Despite Hip Hop having significant cultural significance to the African American experience, they were still controlled by white media and, therefore, had to adhere to their expectations.[9] Due to that, African American women in this industry were imaged after slavery constructs, such as the Jezebel. Thus, their bodies came to be redefined as sexual and temptations through media platforms such as music videos.
The Jezebel constructed a harmful perception of Black women that heavily contributed to their sexual and economic exploitation.[10][11] The sexual narratives perpetuated to the public through media about black women have created stigmas and biases within the educational and juvenile justice system and made them more prone to exploitation, such as sex trafficking.[12] Black girls are often subject to adultification and perceived as inherently sexual and promiscuous. This way of thinking has robbed them of their childhood and innocence. It has instead forced them into victimization by adults within their lives. The adverse childhood experiences that often trigger or result from an over-sexualization from a young age often make young black girls more vulnerable to domestic minor sex trafficking.[12] Due to this, it has been found that black girls not only have a higher chance of being trafficked but are now seen as overrepresented among trafficked children despite their population.[12] It is found that the Jezebel stereotypes have prevailed to the extent that many adults believe that black girls "know more about sex, need to be supported less, need less protection, and know more about adult topics".[12] This, accompanied by the fact that those who enforce and uphold the law also carry these biases, places young black girls in vulnerable positions where they are forced to take responsibility for their victimization.
Perpetuation and reproduction of the stereotype
With roots in slavery, the sapphire archetype was further replicated in films, shows, and literature by the early 1930s. The negative portrayals of African Americans in television and film influences perceptions of them in real life.[13] The reinforcement of the angry Black woman stereotype through media can lead to negative interpretations of Black women's self-expression. We see this replicated as well in film, through portraying African American women as far older in order to remove sympathy garnering characteristics from Black characters. Through these media and social platforms the stereotype was cultivated and sustained.
Black women were perceived to be loud, overly expressive, and generally negative and rude in nature. The 1930s radio show Amos 'n' Andy was particularly one of the first media outlets that reinforced the stereotype. In this production two white men voiced Black characters. Among those characters were Black women. The narrative of anger, assertiveness, and frequent emasculation was echoed with characters such as Aunt Esther from Sanford and Son and Pam from Martin. Towards the early 1970s, Blaxploitation became a prominent film genre, capitalizing off of a new trope which emerged from the combination of two previous caricatures- Jezebel and Sapphire. This combination birthed a separate caricatures that took the overly sexual and aggressive perception of Black women and use it to fight crime. The Angry Black Woman was reinvented, as actresses were able use their "bodies, brains, and guns" to play as a seductress fighting crime. Actresses such as Pam Grier profited off of this genre, using her debut in Blaxploitation films to advance her career.
The pervasiveness of the angry Black woman stereotype has led many Black women to feel unable to express themselves in fear of being perceived as angry.[14] Although often labelled as "angry" unnecessarily, Black women's anger is also characterized as unjustified in instances in which anger is warranted. Deeming Black women's anger invalid or inappropriate shifts the focus from the cause of the anger to the reaction itself. This may be a conscious or subconscious action on behalf of the individual(s) labeling a Black woman as angry in order to shift blame or responsibility.[15]
Relationships to other stereotypes
The sapphire archetype coincides with the mammy and Jezebel. All three of these archetypes uphold the angry black woman stereotype, but in different ways. In the archetype of mammy, black women were characterized as caregivers and submissive, while the Jezebel is characterized as dependent on men, promiscuous, aggressive, and arrogant.[7] The reproduction of these archetypes in popular culture legitimized the dehumanization of black women.
Gender studies professor Deborah Gray White writes, "slave women understood the value of silence and secrecy... like all who are dependent upon the caprices of a master, they hide their real sentiments and turn toward him changeless smile or enigmatic passivity". In other words, slavery poses a direct correlation to the Black women's emotional response, being taught that a domineering personality could be viewed as threatening.
Black feminist response
Black women have used various platforms and mediums to fight back against the Angry Black Women trope that has contributed to their marginalization for centuries. A number of Black women provide insight on how the stereotype is reinforced in the media, social spaces, and interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, Black women, whether if it's through activism, academia, art, or dance, affirm their rage. Through such activism and discourse, Black women have opened many conversations regarding the dismissal and scrutiny of their emotions.[16]
Black feminists have discredited the trope of the angry Black woman and recognize the validity in a black woman's anger. Black women are demanding a more accurate representation in the media overall in order to further the progression of the Black woman. Black feminists believe that the positive aspects of a Black woman's experience should be depicted in the media as well to hinder the persistence of this stereotype.[17]
The aftermath of slavery not only resulted in many social, economic and political effects but also led to the delineation of negative racial stereotypes in the portrayal of black women in media. The industry frequently displayed the stereotypical ideas of black women from mammies, to sapphires, in various forms of mass communication, congruently portraying black women as people who are malevolent, prone to retaliate in an arbitrary and frightening manner, unnecessarily aggressive, and obnoxious. Similarly, these outlets also use black women in television as a peripheral character utilized for comedic relief and are associated with the connotation of Black women being the needy or obsessive seductress, lacking moral cognizance, dignity, and restraint. Black women view this differently. As in various films, lead black women actresses are consistently depicted as angry, inclined to start an argument whereas black men are portrayed in a comparatively positive manner, with somewhat relatable, redeeming qualities.[18] Black women are often portrayed as a belligerent convict and a poor single mother with a lack of higher education. This stereotype has changed over time, however, the media still depicts black women in a negative perspective.[19][20]
Feminists believe that this is still extremely prevalent today, while non-feminists assert that there is a wide variety of black characters in all forms of media today, including both stereotypes and stereotype-free characters. Both groups do note that the "angry black woman" is one of the types of characters that is sometimes portrayed. "It's been difficult to be a black women without not being angry after generations of oppression, discrimination and erasure. Black women aren't allowed to express frustration and passions without being criticized and demonized. They are labeled as loud, vindictive and always in trouble as men are allowed to get upset without constructive criticism because it can establish their masculinity. The strong black women myth often does well in movies and TV shows, but has contributed to making black women look miserable and nonproductive as opposed to other groups/races in reality."[21][22]
Examples of modern movies containing one or more "angry black woman" character include the Madea series of movies, the TV show Empire, and others:
In regards to culturally relevant practices during mental health treatment, Ashley W, author of The angry black woman: the impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women. describes "the myth of the angry Black woman that characterizes these women as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing, hostile, and ignorant without provocation" as a negative stereotype that victimizes black women.[25]
Black women are expected to appear strong-willed and self-sacrificing in their daily lives, regardless of the traumas they experience due to being a Black women in a dominant society. The tropes used to label black women and exposure to institutionalized racism over an extensive period can have lasting effects in the form of chronic physical and mental afflictions; the stress accompanying racial and gender-based discrimination can manifest into health issues such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease.
Researchers have found effective coping strategies to combat the everlasting effects of racism, such as relying heavily on spirituality and placing their belief in a non-material and non-observational being. Vernessa R. Clark, author of The Perilous Effects of Racism on Blacks, notes that there are numerous coping styles that can be both effective or ineffective, but each consists of simultaneously accepting the effects of racism while denying the White institutions and productions that promote racism.[26]
Hyper-visibility in Workplaces
"Angry Black woman stereotype" is one of the ways in which Black women are made hyper-visible. Hyper-visibility happens when people focus too much on someone's race, leading to their personality being disregarded. Black women often face this in workplaces while being victims of this negative stereotype that increases their risk of performance pressure and stress.[27] It may cause them to change their behavior or appearance as it reduces their sense of identity, as well as working harder to prove their worth. The fear of stereotype threat and becoming unemployed from their workplace not only leads them to pushing themselves to tokenized by the white-dominant work force in order to be treated fairly, but it also increases their risk of mental health issues like anxiety.[28] In predominately White workplaces, Black women are often viewed as many racial stereotypes along which they are being undervalued, preventing them from expressing their authentic personality and skills.[28] White and Black colleagues can express many types of emotions at work, although, Black women's stress are often misperceived as anger, usually when dealing with poorly managed conflicts, and happiness.[29]
Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience.
Olympia is a 1863 oil painting by Édouard Manet, depicting a nude white woman ("Olympia") lying on a bed being attended to by a black maid. The French government acquired the painting in 1890 after a public subscription organized by Claude Monet. The painting is now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
A mammy is a U.S. historical stereotype depicting black women, usually enslaved, who did domestic work, including nursing children. The fictionalized mammy character is often visualized as a dark-skinned woman with a motherly personality. The origin of the mammy figure stereotype is rooted in the history of slavery in the United States, as slave women were often tasked with domestic and childcare work in American slave-holding households. The mammy caricature was used to create a narrative of black women being happy within slavery or within a role of servitude. The mammy stereotype associates black women with domestic roles and it has been argued that it, combined with segregation and discrimination, limited job opportunities for black women during the Jim Crow era, approximately 1877 to 1966.
Black Buck was a racial slur used to describe a certain type of African American man in the post-Reconstruction United States. In particular, the caricature was used to describe black men who absolutely refused to bend to the law of white authority and were seen as irredeemably violent, rude, and lecherous.
Mammy Two Shoes is a fictional character in MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoons. She is a middle-aged African American woman who is the housemaid in the house which Tom and Jerry reside. But the fact that she has her own bedroom in the short Sleepy-Time Tom (1951) raises the possibility of her being the owner of the house, as no other human is present in the house in shorts she appears. She would scold and discipline Tom whenever she believed he was misbehaving; Jerry would sometimes be the cause of Tom's getting in trouble.
A video vixen is a woman who models and appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. From the 1990s to the early 2010s, the video vixen image was a staple in popular music, particularly within the genre of hip hop. The video vixen first came around in the late 1980s when the hip-hop culture began to emerge into its own lifestyle, although was most popular in American popular culture during the 1990s and 2000s. Many video vixens are aspiring actors, singers, dancers, or professional models. Artists and vixens have been criticized for allegedly contributing to the social degradation of black women. Latinas are also degraded and hyper-sexualized in hip hop music videos because they are seen as objects of sexual desire in rap music videos.
Sexualization is the emphasis of the sexual nature of a behavior or person. Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification, treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. According to the American Psychological Association, sexualization occurs when "individuals are regarded as sex objects and evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics and sexiness." "In study after study, findings have indicated that women more often than men are portrayed in a sexual manner and are objectified. In addition, a narrow standard of physical beauty is heavily emphasized. These are the models of femininity presented for young girls to study and emulate."
Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States since before 1865, largely connected to the racism and the discrimination to which African Americans are subjected. These beliefs date back to the slavery of black people during the colonial era and they have evolved within American society.
Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. Sexology has a basis in psychoanalysis, specifically Freudian theory, which played a big role in early sexology. This reactionary field of feminist sexology seeks to be inclusive of experiences of sexuality and break down the problematic ideas that have been expressed by sexology in the past. Feminist sexology shares many principles with the overarching field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. It is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly.
Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious aspects of sexual activity. Various aspects and dimensions of female sexuality, as a part of human sexuality, have also been addressed by principles of ethics, morality, and theology. In almost any historical era and culture, the arts, including literary and visual arts, as well as popular culture, present a substantial portion of a given society's views on human sexuality, which includes both implicit (covert) and explicit (overt) aspects and manifestations of feminine sexuality and behavior.
The representation of African Americans in speech, writing, still or moving pictures has been a major concern in mainstream American culture and a component of media bias in the United States.
Misogynoir is a term referring to the combined force of anti-Black racism and misogyny directed towards black women. The term was coined by black feminist writer Moya Bailey in 2008 to address misogyny directed toward black transgender and cisgender women in American visual and popular culture. The concept of misogynoir is grounded in the theory of intersectionality, which analyzes how various social identities such as race, gender, class, age, ability, and sexual orientation interrelate in systems of oppression.
Racial stereotyping in advertising refers to using assumptions about people based on characteristics thought to be typical of their identifying racial group in marketing.
Carolyn Marie West is associate professor of psychology, at the University of Washington Tacoma, and was the first holder of the Bartley Dobb Professorship for the Study and Prevention of Violence (2005-2008).
Players was an American monthly softcore men's magazine. It was often nicknamed "the black Playboy" for its attempt at providing the African-American public with a racy, yet elegant reading choice. Once new black-centric magazines came in to the fold, publications such as The Messenger, Opportunity, and The Crisis would regularly show and portray photographs and short descriptions of Black life in America, specifically Women, to enlighten the masses as both moral and aspirational figures. These images were originally to challenge racist stereotypes, but would turn it on its head to create a vision of empowerment. Players Magazine would come along, as it would take this narrative and flip it to a sexualized state, which would change the world of snuff magazines. Players Magazine, amongst the others before it, attempted to end the narrative of ignorance towards Black life or the everyday representation of Black people.
Concepts of race and sexuality have interacted in various ways in different historical contexts. While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race is understood by scientists to be a social construct rather than a biological reality. Human sexuality involves biological, erotic, physical, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors.
The "oppositional gaze", first coined by feminist, scholar and social activist bell hooks in her 1992 essay collection Black Looks: Race and Representation, is a type of looking relation that involves the political rebellion and resistance against the repression of a black person's right to look.
The Strong Black Woman schema, as defined by scholars, is an archetype of how the ideal Black woman should act. This has been characterized by three components: emotional restraint, independence, and caretaking. Strong Black women must hold back their emotions to avoid appearing weak, portray themselves as strong and independent while being responsible for the problems of others, and take care of those problems as if they were their own. Stemming from stereotypes of enslaved Black women, the schema grew from the intersectional oppression Black women face from society's expectations. The notion that as women, they must uphold feminine standards, but as Black women, they must balance that with the responsibility of being emotionally and physically strong; this is also known as intersectionality.
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America is a book published in 2011 through Yale University Press written by the American MSNBC television host, feminist, and professor of Politics and African American Studies at Tulane University, Melissa Harris-Perry. The book is an exploration of Black female identity in the US and the politics surrounding the perception of Black culture in America.
Adultification bias is a form of racial prejudice where children of minority groups, typically Black children, are treated by adults as being more mature than they actually are. Actions committed by these children that would be deemed normal for child development are more likely to be treated as opportunities for discipline and children are more likely to be seen as having malicious intentions. A clear example of this bias in action is when a Black child is assumed to be older than their actual age. These perceptions could in turn perpetuate the maturity of Black children and the assumptions of adults.
↑ Punyanunt-Carter, Narissa (2008). "The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television". The Howard Journal of Communications. 19 (3): 241–257. doi:10.1080/10646170802218263. S2CID10629060.
↑ Kilgore, Alexcia M; Kraus, Rachel; Littleford, Linh Nguyen (December 2020). "'But I'm not allowed to be mad': How Black women cope with gendered racial microaggressions through writing". Translational Issues in Psychological Science. 6 (4): 372–382. doi:10.1037/tps0000259. S2CID225192933.
↑ Walley-Jean, J. Celeste (Fall 2009). "Debunking the Myth of the "Angry Black Woman": An Exploration of Anger in Young African American Women". Black Women, Gender + Families. 3 (2): 68–86. doi:10.1353/bwg.0.0011. S2CID143244228.
1 2 Naeemah Clark (November 10, 2013). "Find real African American women in a beauty salon, not on reality TV". Greensboro News & Record.
↑ Kretsedemas, Philip (2010). "'But She's Not Black!': Viewer Interpretations of 'Angry Black Women' on Prime Time TV". Journal of African American Studies. 14 (2): 149–170. doi:10.1007/s12111-009-9116-3. JSTOR41819243. S2CID142722769.
↑ Ashley, Wendy (November 4, 2013). "The Angry Black Woman: The Impact of Pejorative Stereotypes on Psychotherapy with Black Women". Social Work in Public Health. 29 (1): 27–34. doi:10.1080/19371918.2011.619449. PMID24188294. S2CID25338484.
Ashley, Wendy (2014). "The angry black woman: the impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women". Social Work in Public Health. 29 (1): 27–34. doi:10.1080/19371918.2011.619449. PMID24188294. S2CID25338484.
Childs, Erica Chito (August 2005). "Looking behind the Stereotypes of the 'Angry Black Woman': An Exploration of Black Women's Responses to Interracial Relationships". Gender and Society. 19 (4): 544–561. doi:10.1177/0891243205276755. JSTOR30044616. S2CID145239066.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “The Urgency of Intersectionality.” Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality | TED Talk, TEDWomen, 2016,
Ferris State University. (2022). The sapphire caricature. Jim Crow Museum. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/sapphire.htm
McLean, Y. (2021, February 14). 'Jezebel' is one of three common racial slurs against all black women and girls. Baptist News Global. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://baptistnews.com/article/jezebel-is-one-of-three-common-racial-slurs-against-all-black-women-and-girls/#.Y5AabezMKhY
Morgan, Marcyliena; Bennett, Dionne (May 10, 2007). "Getting Off of Black Women's Backs: Love Her or Leave Her Alone". Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race. 3 (2): 485–502. doi:10.1017/s1742058x06060334. S2CID144020703.
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