“What About Us?” Supporting the Need for Racially Gendered Socialization for African American Girls

• In Event: Across the Spectrum: The Implications of Racial Socialization for Diverse Children and Youth

Abstract

African-American girls have received less attention when it comes to understanding their unique experiences within schools and classrooms. More focused research about the experiences African-American boys have in the classroom has been conducted (Powers, et al., 2008; Thomas et al., 2009; and Thomas & Stevenson, 2009, to provide a few examples) and it provides an understanding of how their race and gender intersect as related to their academic achievement (Cokley, McClain, Jones, & Johnson, 2012). However, evidence has shown that African-American girls are also vulnerable to teacher bias and differential treatment in classrooms and schools (Banks, 2005; Fordham, 1993; Morris, 2007). The greater academic achievement of African-American girls may overshadow their disparate experiences in the educational context, and as a result the complex relationship between their race-gender status and educational experiences has been underexplored. While African-American boys may be stigmatized and viewed as aggressive and disruptive by teachers, their female counterpart can be viewed as “loud” and oppositional (Fordham, 1993), which can make being Black and female challenging in academic contexts.
Negotiating racially-gendered stereotypes and teacher biases about Black females can be a task during adolescence for African-American girls, and concern for academic success can play a role in this process. When it comes to viewing themselves as successful students, African-American girls may find that mainstream (i.e. traditionally White) female expectations are valued more in the classroom, while their racial culture is not (Fordham, 1993). How can African American girls develop healthy ways of coping with biased expectations in the classroom, as well as healthy perceptions and identities of what it means to be Black and female? African-American girls may benefit from culturally-conscious interventions that recognize their unique race-gender experiences, and provide racially-gendered socialization that can potentially help them develop healthy race-gender identities as well as healthy coping strategies for the academic context.
This paper will provide evidence from a pilot study using an intersectional theoretical framework to support implementation of a culturally-conscious racial socialization intervention to specifically address the biases and stereotypes affecting African-American female adolescents. Intersectionality theory recognizes that the needs of groups that have intersecting multiple identities, such as race and gender for Black females, warrant special attention (Collins, 2000; Crenshaw, 1991).
The study sample consists of 100 Black female adolescents aged 16-23 years (Mage – 19.21 years).Quantitative and focus group results from the study suggest that Black female adolescents internalize positive (e.g. “strong Black woman”) and/or negative (e.g. “angry Black woman”) stereotypes and beliefs about Black females in nuanced ways as coping strategies for managing biased perceptions and expectations of their race-gender group.
Study findings suggest that Black female adolescents could benefit from socialization interventions and experiences that allow them to engage in healthy identity development processes that include acknowledgement of their unique racially-gendered experiences. The innovative intersectional design of this study and its findings has potential to shape academic policies and culturally-conscious programming to improve teacher-student relationships and African American academic achievement.

Author

• Celine Thompson, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine