Controlling Advice? Analysis of Relationship Advice Aimed at African American Women

• In Event: 3483 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 07. Race, Ethnicity, and Class Within Contemporary Feminisms

Abstract

We are interested in the extent to which relationship advice promotes models of marriage that undermine the possibilities for happiness among Black heterosexual couples, and the women who seek happy marriages, in particular. Patricia Hill Collins coined the phrase “controlling images” in her analysis of the depiction of black women in popular culture. She made the point that these images were imposed by white elites to justify the plight of black families. To find out how much (and in what ways) relationship advice aimed at black women reinforces or disrupts traditional models of heterosexual marriage, we analyzed the content of self-help books aimed at black women that were published in the past 10 years. We find that there is a lot of controlling advice in books that African American women turn to in an attempt to help them figure out how to find a mate. But there is just enough truth, and just enough of a nod to modern women’s lives and tastes, that women buy the books, even if they don’t fully “buy” the advice.

Authors

• Karyn Loscocco, State University of New York-Albany

• Kecia R. Johnson, Mississippi State University