Internalizing and resisting the black feminine ideal: black lesbians' understanding of their gendered socialization
| Author(s) | Albert, Tom | |
| Date Accessioned | 2015-11-17T13:27:48Z | |
| Date Available | 2015-11-17T13:27:48Z | |
| Publication Date | 2015 | |
| Abstract | Black families socialize their daughters to uphold a black feminine ideal. This ideal is comprised of discourses of both strength and respectability (Johnson 2013). The discourse of strength encourages black women to be independent and strong, while the discourse of respectability promotes the importance of engaging in ladylike and feminine behavior, including marrying a man and presenting as feminine. The black feminine ideal emerged as a resistance strategy to oppose racism and stereotypical images of black women that permeate society. Thus, failure to uphold this ideal leaves black women susceptible to prejudice and acts of discrimination. However, because of its heteronormative nature, some black women, such as black lesbians, have a difficult time upholding this ideal. Simply by nature of their sexuality, black lesbians fail to maintain an aspect of the black feminine ideal. This paper examines how black lesbians understand their gendered socialization of the black feminine ideal and how they negotiate and engage with gendered values that can and do contradict with their lesbian identity. I conducted 17 in-depth interviews with black lesbian women and discussed their gendered socialization in terms of values. These gendered values confirmed the existence of the black feminine ideal. Furthermore, participants illuminated strategies they utilized to engage with and disengage from gendered values, and demonstrated how an internalization of femininity impacted their gender presentation. The study extends current literature on black lesbians and contributes to an understanding of the racialized aspect of gender and sexuality. | en_US |
| Advisor | Bell, Ann V. | |
| Degree | M.A. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice | |
| Unique Identifier | 929629010 | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/17221 | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | http://search.proquest.com/docview/1716382189?accountid=10457 | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Lesbians, Black -- United States. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Lesbians -- United States -- Identity. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Women -- Socialization -- United States. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Gender expression -- United States. | |
| Title | Internalizing and resisting the black feminine ideal: black lesbians' understanding of their gendered socialization | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |