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"No [Right] Way to be a Black Woman": Exploring Gendered Racial Socialization Among Black Women
BreAnna L Davis Tribble1, Samuel H Allen1, John R Hart1
1University of Maryland, College Park.
Psychology of Women Quarterly
|March 3, 2022
Summary
Black women actively process messages about skin color and hair, integrating them with their intersectional identities. This research highlights the impact of these messages on racial-gender identity development.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- African American Studies
Background:
- Societal messages regarding beauty standards disproportionately affect Black women.
- Understanding the impact of colorism and hair texture bias is crucial for Black women's identity development.
- Intersectionality and racial-ethnic socialization offer valuable frameworks for analyzing these experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how Black women receive and interpret messages about skin color and hair.
- To examine the influence of these messages on racial-gender identity formation.
- To understand the role of intersectionality in Black women's responses to beauty standards.
Main Methods:
- A focus group study was conducted with 29 Black women.
- Transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.
- Researchers identified sources of messages and participants' responses to them.
Main Results:
- Family members were the primary source of messages about skin color and hair, followed by peers and media.
- Messages varied, encompassing Western beauty standards and the embrace of darker skin and natural hair.
- Black women actively processed these messages, integrating them with their intersectional experiences.
Conclusions:
- Black women's racial-gender identity development is influenced by messages about skin color and hair, filtered through their intersectional experiences.
- Findings can inform families and institutions to be more sensitive to the implications of colorism and hair discrimination.
- This research supports the growing Black hair movement, promoting natural hair acceptance.
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