Black Women Feel Defined by Myths

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Black Women Feel Defined by Myths


Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 5:34 am
By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com



<span style="font-weight: bold">Regardless of their station in life, many black women feel they are defined by stereotypes and myths foisted upon them.</span>

Regardless of their station in life, many black women feel they are defined by stereotypes and myths foisted upon them, according to a nationwide survey conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

&quot;Black women haven't really defined themselves,&quot; Sophia Nelson, author of &quot;Black Woman Redefined,&quot; which was excerpted last year on BlackAmericaWeb.com, told The Post. &quot;We were always defined as workhorses, strong. We carry the burdens, we carry the family. We don’t need. We don’t want.&quot;

The survey of more than 800 black women reveals a more complex image of black women, who see themselves as &quot;confident but vulnerable, who have high self-esteem and see physical beauty as important, who find career success more vital to them than marriage,&quot; The Post’s Krissah Thompson reported in Monday’s editions.

The Post conducted a similar look at black men in 2006, which addressed the importance of work, family and education and the fight to overcome stereotyping and discrimination.

In a blog for the newspaper, Thompson said there were a number of reasons The Post decided to focus on black women.

&quot;Of course First Lady Michelle Obama, just by virtue of being the first black woman in her position, has sparked much of this discussion,&quot; Thompson wrote. &quot;And then there’s the disproportionate impact of this recent recession on black women and a raft of fascinating data from the federal government. For example, black women as a group have made major career gains and also are the group least likely to be married. Those data points spark questions and discussion.&quot;

Eighty-five percent of the black women surveyed said they were happy with their lives, but believe they are treated with less respect than other people. Half identified racism as a &quot;big problem,&quot; and nearly half said they feared being victims of discrimination.

Nelson, 45, who quit her job at a major D.C. law firm to write her book, told The Post that she often counsels young black women to ignore how others try to define them, that &quot;you can play this however you want to. You’re living in the age of Michelle Obama.&quot;

The story noted that according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, one-third of employed black women work in management or professional jobs. And Census figures reveal that the number of businesses owned by black women nearly doubled in the past decade to more 900,000, The Post said.

Still, a quarter of the black women – both well- and less-educated – in the Post-Kaiser survey said &quot;they often perceive that others think they are not smart.&quot;

&quot;Despite miraculous income and educational gains for generations, the social and economic advancement of black women has always been precarious,&quot; Paula J. Giddings, who teaches at Smith College and has written about the political and social history of black women, told The Post. &quot;All of our wealth and all of the generational aspiration can disappear — just evaporate — if you lose your house, your health, if you have to take care of a needy family member or if you can't get that loan to continue college.&quot;

&quot;Nearly six in 10 black women say they worry about providing a good education for their kids. Part of that worry stems from the legacy of segregation and discrimination in the country that prevented many black families from accumulating wealth to pass down to succeeding generations,&quot; The Post reported. &quot;But there is also this, according to interviews with black women: Many were not raised to expect that they could marry a fairytale Prince Charming who would take care of them, provide for the family, leave them with no worries.&quot;

&quot;In our upbringing, we’re not raised to be princesses,&quot; Virginia Boateng, a budget analyst who works for the Education Department, told The Post. &quot;We’re told, ‘Yes, you are pretty, but you better have something for yourself.'&quot;

On Tuesday, The Post was scheduled to report survey results about black women's opinion of Obama, the nation's first black first lady.

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blk women see their own challenges mirrored in MO

African American women see their own challenges mirrored in Michelle Obama’s


&amp;#8201;Nearly three-quarters of black women say it’s a good time to be a black woman in America, saying Michelle Obama’s role in the White House has raised their profile, according to a Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey.

By Krissah Thompson and Vanessa Williams, Published: January 23




As black women watch Michelle Obama on the national stage, they search — sometimes nervously — for nuances often lost on the larger culture. How she handles criticism, how she raises her children, even her style of dress, has the potential to counter negative stereotypes.

“She is mainstreaming to the world what a lot of us already know about ourselves,” says Dacenta Grice, a 37-year-old black woman who works as a physician assistant in Atlanta. “She reinforces the reality that so many of us live. She is a black woman who just seems fantastic in her own right, who just seems like every day people and is relatable.”


Michelle Obama is seen very favorably among black women, according to a new poll conducted by the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation. The Washington Post's Krissah Thompson talks about the first lady's uneasy path to popularity, and how it may help her husband's re-election campaign. (Jan. 23)


In a nationwide survey conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, black women described themselves as relating to Michelle Obama and sensing that she understands them. Nearly eight out of 10 black women say they personally identify with the first lady, and when asked to give a one-word description of Obama, among the words most commonly used were “intelligent,” “strong” and “classy.”

In follow-up interviews, black women say the first lady’s racial and gender identity are essential to the deep connection they feel they have to her. They call her a role model, someone familiar to them — like a sister or aunt.

That emotional stake makes watching Obama navigate the world stage both “thrilling and terrifying,” says Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor of political science at Tulane University who has written about the first lady’s impact on black women.

“Every time she flawlessly performs her role as first lady just by being who she is, she shows how extraordinary and exceptional we are,” says Harris-Perry, who is in her late 30s. “It is really fun to watch. It feels like, yes! Oh, this can never be denied.

“But every time she is booed at a NASCAR rally, the terrifying reality emerges that it will take so little for the love and admiration of Michelle Obama to go away. Anything she does that is construed as negative or stereotype-reinforcing will undoubtedly be held against us.”

In fact, the positive views of Michelle Obama cut across racial lines — with three-fourths of white women and two-thirds of white men saying they have a favorable impression of her. Other sharp contrasts do emerge in the Post-Kaiser poll between black and white women’s opinions of the first lady. Nearly nine in 10 black women say that the first lady understands their problems, compared with about half of white women. And nearly nine in 10 black women say she shares their values, compared with about six in 10 white women.

The importance black women place on the first lady’s racial identity is not universally shared, and some whites described her race as irrelevant.

“If I do consider her race — which I don’t do, to be quite honest — it’s really not a factor,” says Tracy Lynch, 42, a white freelance writer who longs to sit in her backyard and have a glass of wine with Obama as their kids frolic on the playground. “If I do consider her race, it’s more that I say, ‘Thank God my kids are a part of this history.’&amp;#8201;”

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