Two Warring Ideals in One Dark Body: Theorizing Black Women’s Embodiment Through Double Consciousness

• In Event: 2183 - Section on Race, Gender, and Class Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Race, Gender, Bodies

Abstract

Abstract: Expanding the work of Itzigsohn and Brown (2015), who describe DuBois’s contribution to the sociology of self-formation, this paper discusses Dubois's theoretical contribution to our understanding of black women’s embodiment in the U.S. Specifically, I argue that double consciousness allows us to better theorize how black women contend with dominant standards of feminine beauty. Before I advance this argument, I deconstruct the key features of double consciousness, review the literature on its contribution to self-formation, and defend its theoretical merit. Next, I illustrate how double consciousness can expand our understanding of embodiment by placing it in conversation with Goffman’s interaction order. Finally, I examine DuBois’s engagement with black women in his academic texts and show how his theory advance our understandings of black women’s sense of embodiment.

Author

• Niamba Baskerville, Northwestern University