Angry Black Women Research Paper

Hall, J.C., Everett, J.E., Hamilton-Mason, J. (2012). Black women talk about workplace stress and how they cope. Journal of black studies 43 (2), 207-26.This article talks about the stressful situation facing African American in the workplace and the strategies they used to manage it. The authors related that the same stress struggling black women in the workplace was among the white female also even though they were experiencing inequality issues on top of the reality. The study was focused on five key terms to explain, the process of racism and sexism in the workplace stressing female African American. The authors elaborated the criteria of hiring or promoting in a diverse workplace as the first key. Secondly, the crucial

Similarly, Patricia Hill’s work “Black Feminist Thought” explains the need for black feminism. For Hill U.S. black feminism is needed in order for black women to survive, cope with, and resist their differential treatment in society. Black feminist thought creates a collective identity among this marginalized group of African-American women. Hill provides several features that make U.S. Black feminist thought different than any other set of feminism. The first feature Hill speaks about is ‘blackness’ it is this concept that makes U.S. black feminist a different group that suffers a “double oppression”. Thus, U.S. Black women collectively participate in a dialectical relationship which links African American women’s oppression and activism. Hill speaks on the U.S. black feminist thought and the dilemma they face in American society. During the women’s right movement there was a tremendous difference between black and white women’s experiences, “while women of color were urged, at every turn, to become permanently infertile, white women enjoying prosperous economic conditions were urged, by the same forces, to reproduce themselves”. It is this difference in attitudes that demonstrate why there is a need to focuses on the linkage of experiences and ideas experienced by the black women in America. Consequently, Davis analyzes the hypocritical differences of the government of the

I am loud, irate, and unapproachable. If you disrespect me, I become uncontrollable, because my only method of communication is through deleterious speech that only escalates the situation further. I am the angry black woman. We see this horrific stereotype almost every day on television and very seldom notice it, because we get lost in the entertainment of it. The “Angry Black Woman” stereotype is harmful to black women, young and old, because it shows us in a negative light and can control how other and how we see ourselves. When women get angry, it’s often blamed dismissively on their monthly menstrual cycle. But imagine just how infuriating it would be if all of your negative emotions were blamed on your year-round skin tone. The stereotype of the angry black woman is a prime example of how these categorizations function as social control mechanisms. Media constantly use this stereotype of the angry black woman as rude, stubborn, and most of all- angry.

Mental health is a serious stigma that is not spoken about within the Black community. There is this notion of being weak for seeking help as if the mental function of the brain is of no importance, however it is, for how is the body to function if the mind is sick or exhausted? The phrase “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” perfectly stated by Fannie Lou Hamer on August 22, 1964 is prevalent today, however it would more appropriately reflect the struggle of mental health issue with Black women. Although this quote was in reference of Hamer’s inability to register to vote and other obstruction of justices she encountered which later resulted to her arrest, this quote and idea of tiredness is still very relevant to the modern Black women today. Black women are expected from adolescence to remain resilient in all adversities, regardless of mental exhaustion, for there is an unspoken expectation of maintaining this figment of a Strong Black Woman (SBW) as a way to cope with this physiological distress (N. Watson 604).

Have you ever tried to eliminate the way people view you? Black women in the United States have been seen as “angry black women” for a multitude of years and no matter how many have proven to society that they aren’t angry, society refuses to accept such proof. Black women have been covered with this stereotype and essentially been made invisible. Although many have empowered themselves and are breaking the stereotype they as still made invisible on the grounds that society refuses to divulge them by understanding why some women may have such behavior, recognizing those who do not display such behavior, and lastly by accepting black women for being strong enough to break such a

Imagine not being in total control of your own life, having someone else tell you what you can and cannot do. Being a prisoner and constantly being policed everyday and every second in a world that does not want to set you free and allow you to advance into your full potential. Black women have to live in world that does not see them or treat them as equals. They have to work ten times harder than anyone else, and then they only break the surface. It

In today's society, African-American women are noticeably perceived as angry. This sadly is a negative stereotype that many African-American women have to deal with. However, if an African-American women were to be angry, she would have the right to do so. In the article, The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism, Audre Lorde discloses the reasoning towards the acceptability of angry African-American women. With all the oppression African-American women have, and still do face with, it is understandable to angry at society.

Black women have a long feminist tradition dating back to 19th-century activists such as Maria W. Stewart and Sojourner Truth, but their struggles are a tale of two fights. To be a black woman seeking liberation, one had to fight racial inequality and sexual inequality at the same time. Black women who were involved in the Black Liberation Movement were discriminated against sexually by black men who were oppressed by whites and felt they had to adopt patriarchal roles. Black women in the Women 's Movement faced racial inequality when white women discriminated against them. Also within the Movement, little attention was devoted to class issues that seriously affected black women. Not all the black men nor all the white women with both movements were sexist and racist but enough of those with the highest influences were able to make the lives of the black women in these groups almost intolerable.

Out of Our Right Minds discusses issues such as the stereotypes and damaging myths that have hindered the mental health and socialization of African American women. Even at a young age, black females have been taught to be a "strong black woman". Out of Our Right Minds shows that black women are expected to take on a lot, "hold it down" and fulfill the stereotype of the "Black Superwoman". Black women have been pressured so much that they now criticize themselves harshly when they fail to succeed at completing a certain task.

Growing up as a black female the images of women like us are controlled. Not only do we not fit the mold of the “good” or “ideal” woman, but when we do, we are told how we should look and what we should wear. Black women, their issues, and their differences are marginalized in order to keep hegemonic femininity intact. Through the use of the Rogers v. American Airlines case and the development of the black Barbie I will show examples of how the womanhood does not fit the mold of what a real woman should look like in the eyes of Western Society.

Black Feminism has proven to have a profound effect on society’s history, and is now beginning to impact even more this day and age. Black feminism is broader than what comes to mind. It is an essential component of black struggle against oppression and authority. Generally Black feminism is used to empower and liberate black women. Throughout the years many liberals have tried to exclude and silence black feminist. Black feminist have demanded for social, economic and political equality, and desire a compatible and progressive vision of social justice (Freedman 2002). This is based on the historical and ongoing struggles against the race and gender of black women across America. It can be experienced within the home, in an occupational setting, in the communities, and more so within the culture. Today African women, especially those on college campuses have accepted feminism as representation for all women. Feminist perspectives seem to be appealing African female writers who present African life through the favored feminist ideologies of African male as overbearing and instinctive. Feminism has always looked to influence popular culture by its presence and by its persistent demands to be recognized as the official voice of all women. Black feminism nowadays is somewhat based off of things that are seen through the eyes of poor women, women of immigration, and lesbian women. The struggle of black feminist comes from black women not only being equal to black

In history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Women had had to endure years of sexism and struggle to get to where we are today. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. Many movements have helped black women during the past centuries to overcome sexism, racism, and adversities that were set against them. History tells us that movements such as the Feminist Movement helped empower all women, but this fact is not totally true. In this paper, I will discuss feminism, the movements, and its "minimal" affects on black women.

Even though black women were disadvantaged not only by race but by gender, they still found the courage to speak out. Black feminists aim to redifine the importance of Black women’s culture. This places a greater emphasis on the role of historically specific political economies in explaining the endurances of certain cultural themes because : The actions that the oppressed take against their oppressors are far more complex than previous social theory. Black women may conform to their opression while simultaniously rejecting their at the bottom.(Washington) Rebecca Washington states

At last, there may be more to anger than the bad wrap it has been given. Although anger is difficult to deal with, whether it is within or in others, it can be a very powerful quality if harnessed and channeled in a positive manner. Once understood how to handle anger, it could give a whole new perspective on things. “As one will not be punished for their anger, one will be punished by their anger.”

The Feminist Psychoanalytic Theory encompasses the idea that the ideal “human person is a blend of positive feminine and positive masculine traits.” (Combs)Throughout history, Black women’s physical and mental strength have been demonized by the greater White society as negative masculinity and unwanted sassiness. By analyzing the actions of Black mothers in Annelise Orleck’s Storming Caesar’s Palace, the common preconceived notion of Black women is refuted and dismantled. The Feminist Psychoanalytic Theory is support by highlighting how theses women had the right balance of “positive feminine and positive masculine traits,” which helped them to appeal to legislators, hotel owners, and casino owners to change policy (Combs).