Racism and the diminishment of the Black woman
By Bianca Prince // Racism & Black Women // EEW Magazine Online
Unattractive or not conventionally beautiful. Angry. Nappy-headed. Aggressive. Domineering. These are some of the ways Black women— among the most unprotected and disrespected classes here in America—are described.
As statisticians focus on negative data highlighting our disadvantages and perceived shortcomings, biased men and women duped by stereotypes and racist tropes brand us lazy welfare queens and baby mamas that can’t keep a man. We’re never good enough. Our skin shade, hair type, and body composition are endlessly debated and used to rank us on the male chauvinist attractiveness scale. Sadly we’ve bought into the lie and are suffering the consequences.
The impact of diminishment
False but widely accepted myths firmly rooted in racism have led to the diminishment and marginalization of the Black woman despite her beauty, brilliance, desirability, and achievements. The advent of the internet has especially impacted millennials, born between 1980 and 1995, and Gen Zers also known as Zoomers, born between 1996 and the early-mid 2000s. Black women that fall within this subset of Americans are exposed to social media commentary that leans into a false hierarchy of beauty, desirability, and value, wounding the self-esteem of the impressionable.
The impact is catastrophic on mental health, confidence, relationships and economic mobility. Constantly being told that you are less than, less likely, and less empowered than others makes it much easier to devalue oneself while taking a major toll on the psyche.
No wonder after being inundated with prejudiced viewpoints and conjecture posing as fact for generations, self-hatred has crept into Black communities where we discriminate against and diminish each other. We wear wigs to hide our natural hair texture, get rhinoplasty to make our noses appear less ethnic, and bleach our skin to achieve a lighter complexion. We compete with other Black women and judge their worth based on pseudo criteria.
The disturbing historical context
The devastating impact of slavery and Jim Crow was revealed through the infamous “doll tests” in the 1940s led by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark. The two used a scientific approach to explore the psychological effects of segregation. In 1940, 77 percent of Black Americans still lived in the South—a hotbed of racism— where they made up 24 percent of the population. The results showed that most Black children preferred the white dolls over Black ones.
Dr. Kenneth Clark, in a PBS interview, explained that the research was designed “to see the extent to which their color, their sense of their own race and status, influenced their judgment about themselves, self-esteem.”
From diminishment to deliverance
Considering America’s history of systematic exclusion, disenfranchisement, disempowerment, and marginalization of Black people, it’s no surprise that Black women struggle to find our place in society. Decades later, despite strides being made to increase diversity and inclusiveness, the inferiority complex some Black children developed in childhood lingers in adulthood.
If we ever hope to move from diminishment to deliverance and collectively heal, Black women must consciously reject destructive, white supremacist ideals imposed by media and the beauty and fashion industries.
We are under no illusion. It will take much prayer, work, deprogramming and reprogramming, but we can—and must— create our own narrative. For the sake of our own souls and the souls of our daughters, let us begin pushing back against harmful narratives and systemic oppression and embrace our power, celebrate our uniqueness, and own that we are beautiful specimens created in the image of God.
