No Disrespect: A Womanist Critique of Respectability Discourses in Extracurricular Programming for Black Girls

• In Event: 64.027 - Resisting Curricula of Oppression

Abstract

This paper explores how extracurricular programs intervening in the criminalization of Black girls may constrict their gendered identities. Through a womanist theoretical framework, we investigate discourses about respectability that permeate programming and curriculum in an extracurricular program for Black girls. We find that these discourses, which traffic in respectability politics, reinforce a restrictive model of the ideal Black girlhood as one aligned with white, western, Judeo-Christian, patriarchal, hetero-sexist, middle-class values. We conclude with recommendations for how extracurricular initiatives aiming to counter the effects of exclusionary discipline practices on Black girls may adopt programmatic and curricular approaches inclusive of Black girlhoods.

Authors

• Tiffany M Nyachae, Buffalo State - SUNY

• Esther O. Ohito, Rutgers University