THERE IS ACTUALLY NO PROBLEM WITH BEING AN ANGRY BLACK WOMAN
Angry Black Woman :
Stereotype that characterizes Black woman as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing and hostile.
Stereotype that characterizes Black woman as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing and hostile.
In our societies, a stereotype called the “Angry Black Woman” is often present to describe the behavior of some black woman, when during their first impression, they do not seem friendly or super nice. We often hear this stereotype in workplaces, relationships or in family reunions.
Most of the time woman, black woman don’t show this persona with no circumstances. Some of them are acting like that, because the space in where they are is not describe as a space enough safe for them to allow them to be fully themselves. It's important to take that into account.
“ Our psyches does not act like that
by chance. They are the result of what is happening in our environments. “
S.
Their behavior is only a response to adapt themselves into the environment they are living. It must be around friends, with colleges at work or, by example, because of an irritating question.
We should also be aware that these biases are already influenced by other stereotypes that affect black men and black women.
Take the image of the "Ya bon Banania", which represents one of the first pictorial forms in which the Black man was represented and "accepted" during colonial times. The Ya Bon Banania portrayed the black man as always smiling, obedient and to be spoken to in "petit-nègre" language. The "petit-nègre" language is defined as a way of speaking in which the lexical field used is very simple.
To speak "petit-nègre" is to express the idea that "you stay where you are".
Frantz FANON , Peaux noires, masques blancs.
Frantz FANON , Peaux noires, masques blancs.
Even if times have changed, certain stereotypes are still present. We no longer talk about Ya Bon Banania, but this infantilizing way of reducing the behavior of certain black people is still present. This is where the "Angry Black Woman" comes in. We'll call the "Angry Black Woman" the one who learns to set limits that used to be crossed without shame.
To illustrate this point, Aduni decided to interview Destiny. Destiny defines herself as "an artist bringing her vision of the world, to the world". As an avid reader of Toni Morrison, she has educated herself on these issues through a combination of reading and personal experiences.
“No matter what you do in life, you'll always be seen as the black woman. It's as if, in our heads, we always have to do more in order to be equal to others. My vision of things has been shaped around that. Toni Morrison has a way of writing that hypnotizes and absorbs us. I'll never stop reading, it allows me to be with myself.”
Destiny has already been confronted with situations concerning the way black women are perceived in our societies. We decided to talk about it through 3 major questions.
DO YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF ISSUES THAT STILL SHOCK YOU AS A BLACK WOMAN?
I think of certain phenomena that particularly affect me. These phenomena came into my life, had a big impact on me, and I still think about that, even now.
As a black woman, you'll never really be loved as a woman. We'll be loved, desired, even adored as a black woman. It's through becoming an object, a fantasy in the Other’s, but we'll never really be a woman.
It's as if people feel the need to impose their dynamic. They throw all their fears, anger and emotions at us, without necessarily taking into account the fact that we're human.
It's serious because it's become a norm. People aren't shocked when these subjects are raised. They think we're crazy, that we're women who exaggerate, when it's quite the opposite. We'll always be seen as "the" black woman, or "a" black woman.
You can feel it even when you express yourself. We'll be seen as a black woman who talks, but not as a person who also needs respect, to grow, to evolve. People tend to impose this image on us. You're a black woman, so you're strong, you're a black woman, so you're good (even though you're underage, for example). It revolts me.
ANGRY BLACK WOMAN , RESILIENT BLACK WOMAN DO YOU FEEL THESE CLICHÉS FIT YOU ?
Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been seen as a “loudmouth” . I tried to understand why this happened to me. It was only later that I realized it was due to racism and discrimination.
I started talking about it very early on and I was quickly given the image of the rebellious young girl without necessarily trying to understand why I was like that. Now I want to assert myself before a certain image is imposed on me.
When I walk into a room, I take up space, and that's deliberate, because I need to show that I exist. It's not me, my image, I've never had the time to be myself.
I just reacted to what I was given. That's another reason why I have trouble with hierarchies. It taught us to take up as much space as possible.
DO YOU FEEL THAT IF BLACK WOMEN DON'T DO IT, THEY'LL BE STEPPED ON?
The way you develop as a child creates the adult you'll be later on. I have the impression that we were forced into a shell at a very early age. A shell that makes us want to project a good image all the time.
Take Aya Nakamura, for example: when someone disrespects her and she doesn't hesitate to react, the media go wild, even though she has every right to respond! Every human being has the right to have their dignity respected.
I have the impression that black women, no matter what we do, will always be reduced to the same image. It's a label that won't let us go, whether it's in our private lives, in our families or at work. There's a real lack of self-questioning in this respect.
Destiny,interviewed by Morenike.
This article is not here to assert that black women are indeed bitter, but that we should in no way reduce to a single mood and a single stereotype an entire behavioral habitus resulting from the anxiety-inducing character in which they may be led to evolve.
Because it can happen very quickly! A simple refusal because someone wants to touch their hair, a voice a little higher than the others in a discussion, and they automatically find themselves crystallized in a depreciatory image.
The question is this:
Having noticed that the so-called "angry black woman" is nothing more than a term used to invisibilize the emotions of black women, why not try to continue to act freely without necessarily taking note of how we may be perceived?
Because, in the end, assuming this status would only mean accepting that your emotions and feelings must be taken into account.
Be proud to be an angry black woman. Your psyche deserves it.
Morenike.