Storied Revelations of Black Girlhood: A Family Process Perspective

• In Event: A Methodological Renaissance: Expanding Intersectional Approaches for Black Girls in Education

Abstract

Purpose
Despite dominant discourse and negative characterizations of Black girls that aim to invalidate their axiomatic brilliance, Black girls continue to resist, adapt, and thrive. Previous scholarship has illustrated the ways Black caregivers prepare and empower Black girls through gendered racial socialization, arming them with truth and affirmation, in order to ensure their daughters can healthily cope with the realities of gendered racism (Authors, 2022; Brown et al., 2017; Stokes et al., 2020). However, research often neglects to interrogate how the gendered racial socialization process is informed, modified, and interpreted by both the caregiver and child independently. Further, less is known about the motivations guiding these discussions. Recognizing gendered racial socialization as a dynamic family process, this paper has three main research questions: (1) How do Black girls define Black girlhood and how might their feelings about Black girlhood be shaped by the verbal and non-verbal messaging they receive from their caregivers?, (2) How might caregivers’ motivations for engaging in gendered racial socialization be informed by their own lived experiences and definitions of Black girlhood?, and (3) How might Black girls inform the gendered racial socialization process?

Theoretical Framework and Method
Guided by the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (Spencer, 1995; 1997; Velez & Spencer, 2018), this study emphasized the meaning making of Black girls and Black caregivers, with particular attention given to how they processed gendered and racialized experiences independently and as a family unit. Of significance, this study sought to prioritize Black girls reclaiming their own narratives and definitions of Black girlhood. Fourteen Black girls in the 6th-12th grades who resided in the Southeastern region of the United States were recruited to participate in an individual semi-structured interview on Zoom. Interviews explored Black girls' schooling experiences, identity development, and the messages they received from caregivers. After girls were interviewed, their caregivers (n=11) were then invited to participate in an individual semi–structured interview about their own lived experiences, parenting motivations, and parenting practices. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to identify themes derived from interview transcripts.

Findings & Discussion
Findings revealed that Black girls were keenly aware of inequality and came to expect hardship related to their status as a Black girl. Many girls experienced or witnessed racism/ discrimination in their schools, community, and online. However, Black girls still expressed positive gendered racial identities, feeling both prepared and empowered by caregivers. Caregivers’ perceptions of Black girlhood closely mirrored that of the adolescents’ understanding of Black girlhood, though revealing a greater motivation to resist and counter popular media portrayals of Black girls in their parenting. Caregivers also reported children’s own negative school experiences or instances of anti-Black violence seen in the media often acted as catalysts for intentional discussions about racism, sexism, and injustice in society.

Author

• Marketa Burnett, University of Connecticut