By: Jea Daniel (’20), Staff Writer
I am a Black woman. Growing up, being a Black woman did not particularly resonate with me as its own individual identity. I grew up identifying as a woman and as a Black person separately. However, being a Black woman is not just the combination of these two identities. Being Black, a woman, and a Black woman are three completely different identities that come with completely different problems. Over the course of my life I have learned that on any given day, a Black woman can encounter every obstacle that goes with each individual identity. Being a Black woman means surviving all the heartache and horror that comes with being at the bottom of the social totem pole and finding the strength to keep pushing through.
The oppression of the Black woman in American history started the minute we stepped onto American soil. One would think that after hundreds of years the treatment of Black women would improve, but it has not. In a 2002 poll, 61% of Black women said they were dissatisfied with how they were treated in society (The Double Lives…). The multitude of systematically oppressive tactics set against Black women qualify them as one of, if not the, most oppressed groups of people throughout this country’s history.
When discussing the different ways in which society systematically oppresses Black women, it is important to mention the stereotypes that come with being a Black woman. The stereotype of the strong, independent, black woman, for example, is one that has institutionally oppressed black women for centuries. Because of the idea that Black women can endure any and everything without aid, Black women have the lowest treatment rates for mental illnesses despite having the illnesses at similar rates to other groups. A report published by the University of Wisconsin found that racial and gender discrimination put Black women at an even greater risk for major depressive disorder (Hamm). Black women experience depression at higher rates than their white counterparts, but remain as the most undertreated group for depression in the United States. Studies show that this lack of treatment is mainly due to the shame and embarrassment that Black women feel when it comes to admitting they need help (Hamm). Psychologist Lisa Orbe-Austin, who treats predominantly Black women, says that her patients typically struggle with admitting they have mental disorders. She says this may be due to distorted images that black women have of themselves because of mischaracterizations they face every day (Hamm). Researchers at the National Alliance for Mental Illness discovered that “African American women tend to reference emotions related to depression as ‘evil’ or ‘acting out’ (Hamm).” The idea that black women must be detached from their emotions in order to be a ‘strong, independent’ woman prevents them from obtaining optimal mental health.
As mentioned before, being a woman in a patriarchal society comes with its own individual difficulties. The historical oppression of women is what led to the original feminist movement. The issue with this feminism, commonly referred to as ‘white feminism’, is that it does not advocate for women of color. For example, white feminism does not address how women of color are sexually violated at alarmingly higher rates compared to their white counterparts. Approximately 40% of black women report forced sexual contact by age 18. In addition, for every black woman that reports her rape, at least 15 black women do not report (Alexander). Mainstream feminism neglects to focus on the groups of women who need more attention when it comes to sexual assault. Black women are shamed into not reporting their sexual assault due to descriptions of their sexuality such as ‘promiscuous’ or the ‘Jezebel’ stereotype (Alexander). Feminism neglects to advocate on behalf of the Black women who need to feel more comfortable with coming forward, leaving them without a concrete group to defend them.
Regardless of the situation, Black women have always overcome whatever obstacles were put before them. They endure more than almost any other marginalized group in America. In the face of these oppressive tactics, they have created movements to uplift themselves. In response to ridicule of the natural Black features that we possess, we created natural hair and body movements to promote self-love. When we noticed we were being excluded from feminism, we created our own movement called womanism that better adheres to our specific needs. In the face of our oppression, black women have continued to push back against the obstacles set before us. As Kola Boof perfectly stated, “the black woman is the most unprotected, unloved woman on earth, she is the only flower on earth that grows unwatered.”
