In this Book
- Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman: Voice and the Embodiment of a Costly Performance
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: Temple University Press
summary
The defining quality of Black womanhood is strength, states Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant in Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman. But, she argues, the idea of strength undermines its real function: to defend and maintain a stratified social order by obscuring Black women’s experiences of suffering, acts of desperation, and anger. This provocative book lays bare the common perception that strength is an exemplary or defining quality of “authentic” Black womanhood.
The author, a noted sociologist, interviews 58 Black women about being strong and proud, to illustrate their “performance” of invulnerability. Beauboeuf-Lafontant explains how such behavior leads to serious symptoms for these women, many of whom suffer from eating disorders and depression.
Drawing on Black feminist scholarship, cultural studies, and women’s history, Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman traces the historical and social influences of normative Black femininity, looking at how notions of self-image and strength create a distraction from broader forces of discrimination and power.
The author, a noted sociologist, interviews 58 Black women about being strong and proud, to illustrate their “performance” of invulnerability. Beauboeuf-Lafontant explains how such behavior leads to serious symptoms for these women, many of whom suffer from eating disorders and depression.
Drawing on Black feminist scholarship, cultural studies, and women’s history, Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman traces the historical and social influences of normative Black femininity, looking at how notions of self-image and strength create a distraction from broader forces of discrimination and power.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- 5. Coming to Voice: Transcending Strength
- pp. 134-150
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 155-158
- Appendix: Table of Participants
- pp. 159-160
- References
- pp. 169-180
Additional Information
ISBN
9781592136698
Related ISBN(s)
9781592136674, 9781592136681
MARC Record
OCLC
798297940
Pages
194
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2009