Black Femalehood and the Principles of Existence in Practice conceptually frames the complex trajectory of Black femalehood, including contributions and triumphs, methods of resistance, and ways of coping, as well as the impacts of external forces on their physical and psychological wellness. The book scrutinizes the work of selected female figures and their modes of resistance, including the warriors of the Haitian Revolution, diasporic African descendant combatants for human rights, and academic female writers. From battlefield combats to daily struggles for survival, it illustrates how the battles in which Black females have been compelled to engage have caused centuries of physical, emotional, and psychological distress, well into contemporary times. This volume will be of use to upper-level undergraduate students as well as graduate students studying gender studies, sociology, Black studies, and politics.
Creates a new framework for approaching Black womens wellness, by merging theory and practice with both personal narratives and public policy. This book offers a unique, interdisciplinary, and thoughtful look at the challenges and potency of Black womens struggle for inner peace and mental stability. It brings together contributors from psychology, sociology, law, and medicine, as well as the humanities, to discuss issues ranging from stress, sexual assault, healing, self-care, and contemplative practice to health-policy considerations and parenting. Merging theory and practice with personal narratives and public policy, the book develops a new framework for approaching Black womens wellness in order to provide tangible solutions. The collection reflects feminist praxis and defines womanist peace in terms that reject both superwoman stereotypes and victim caricatures. Also included for health professionals are concrete recommendations for understanding and treating Black women. this book speaks not only to Black women but also educates a broader audience of policymakers and therapists about the complex and multilayered realities that we must navigate and the protests we must mount on our journey to find inner peace and optimal health. from the Foreword by Linda Goler Blount
"Black Femalehood and the Principles of Existence in Practice conceptually frames the complex trajectory of Black femalehood, including contributions and triumphs, methods of resistance, ways of coping, as well as the impacts of external forces on their physical and psychological wellness. The book scrutinises the work of selected female figures and their modes of resistance, including the warriors of the Haitian Revolution, to Ida B. Wells and academic female writers. From battlefield combats to daily struggles for survival, it illustrates how the battles in which Black females have been compelled to engage have cost them physical, emotional and psychological distress, well into the twenty-first century. This volume will be of use to upper-level undergraduate students as well as graduate students studying Gender Studies, Sociology, Black Studies and Politics"--
In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. The result is a superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought.
"Challenging Misrepresentations of Black Womanhood" investigates the typecasting of Black womanhood and the larger sociological impact on Black women’s self-perceptions. It details the historical and contemporary use of stereotypes against Black women and how these women work to challenge and dispel false perceptions. The book highlights the role of racist ideas in the reproduction and promotion of stereotypes of Black femaleness in media, literature, artificial intelligence and the perceptions of the general public. Contributors in this collection identify the racist and sexist ideologies behind the misperceptions of Black womanhood and illuminate twenty-first–century stereotypical treatment of Black women such as Michelle Obama and Serena Williams, and explore topics such as comedic expressions of Black motherhood, representations of Black women in television dramas and literature, and identity reclamation and self-determination. "Challenging Misrepresentations of Black Womanhood" establishes the criteria with which to examine the role of stereotypes in the lives of Black women and, more specifically, its impact on their social and psychological well-being.
From well-known intellectuals such as Frederick Douglass and Nella Larsen to often-obscured thinkers such as Amina Baraka and Bernardo Ruiz Suárez, black theorists across the globe have engaged in sustained efforts to create insurgent and resilient forms of thought. New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition is a collection of twelve essays that explores these and other theorists and their contributions to diverse strains of political, social, and cultural thought. The book examines four central themes within the black intellectual tradition: black internationalism, religion and spirituality, racial politics and struggles for social justice, and black radicalism. The essays identify the emergence of black thought within multiple communities internationally, analyze how black thinkers shaped and were shaped by the historical moment in which they lived, interrogate the ways in which activists and intellectuals connected their theoretical frameworks across time and space, and assess how these strains of thought bolstered black consciousness and resistance worldwide. Defying traditional temporal and geographical boundaries, New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition illuminates the origins of and conduits for black ideas, redefines the relationship between black thought and social action, and challenges long-held assumptions about black perspectives on religion, race, and radicalism. The intellectuals profiled in the volume reshape and redefine the contours and boundaries of black thought, further illuminating the depth and diversity of the black intellectual tradition.
Psychology of Black Womanhood is the first textbook to provide an authoritative, jargon-free, affordable, and holistic exploration of the sociohistorical and psychological experiences of Black girls and women in the United States, while discussing the intersection of their identities. The authors include research on young, middle-aged, and maturing women; LGBTQ+ women and non-binary individuals; women with disabilities; and women across social classes. This textbook is firmly rooted in Black feminist, womanist, and psychological frameworks that incorporate literature from related disciplines, such as sociology, Black/African American studies, women’s studies, and public health. Psychology of Black Womanhood speaks to the psychological study of experiences of girls and women of African descent in the United States and their experiences in the context of identity development, education, religion, body image, physical and mental health, racialized gendered violence, sex and sexuality, work, relationships, aging, motherhood, and activism. This textbook has implications for practice in counseling, social work, health care, education, advocacy, and policy.
Beginning with their forced introduction to American soil, Black women have relied on maverick-like characteristics to survive. And yet, these liberating qualities have been repeatedly disparaged by the masses in favor of an elitist politics of respectability. In Maverick Feminist: To Be Female and Black in a Country Founded upon Violence and Respectability, scholar Kemeshia Randle Swanson examines the extent to which the politics of respectability diminish joy and increase sorrow throughout the lifespan of Black women. By rejecting this damaging standard in society, Black women can wholly and attentively assist in the obliteration of racist, sexist, classist, and ableist oppression. But first, they must work towards becoming self-identified, self-actualized, and self-sexualized. Bridging the gap between women in both the streets and the academy, Maverick Feminist expands the traditional understandings of activism and enlarges discussions about Black female sexuality. Swanson emphasizes sexuality’s significance to the literary and sociopolitical success of Black women of the past and in this contemporary climate. Through close readings and critical analyses of fiction, nonfiction, and popular culture, Swanson argues that #BlackGirlMagic and racial progression require rejecting respectability politics and developing an intimate appreciation of self. Maverick Feminist examines texts by and about bold Black women, including Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Sister Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever, Brittney Cooper’s Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Sapphire’s PUSH, Roxane Gay’s Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Terry McMillan’s Getting to Happy, and Michelle Obama’s Becoming. Maverick Feminist offers hope concerning the growing divide between scholars and the communities about which they theorize. The book celebrates centuries of agency and control that Black women have mustered and maintained in a world that seems to want nothing more than to see them prone and powerless. Ultimately, maverick feminism provides a freer means of living out, evaluating, understanding, and improving the lives of Black women.
