ipl-logo

The Matriarch Image Analysis

577 Words3 Pages

The Matriarch is another damaging stereotype that emerged from slavery. In contrast to the Jezebel image, the Matriarch image was embraced and was perceived as not destructive to the Black woman. “If Black women could be attacked for being promiscuous, they certainly could not be attacked for being strong” (Harris, 110). During slavery, the role of the Black women as the head of the slave family was overemphasized. After slavery, a government report in the 1960s created the Matriarch image. The report stated that slavery destroyed Black families by reversing the roles for men and women (Donovan, 99). The Matriarch image describes a woman who is “overly aggressive, unfeminine, and who emasculates black men” (Gillium,3). Her primary role is depicted as emasculating Black men by verbally assaulting them in a “loud, animated, and verbose fashion” (Gillium,3). Not only does the Matriarch emasculate Black men verbally, but also by taking the leadership role in the family. The characteristics of this stereotypical image build the persona of the strong Black woman. As a form of resistance many …show more content…

Strength was the only quality that was available to black women and without the assistance of anything they only had their bodies and minds to protect them. Although their bodies and minds had been frequently and accessibly violated, this image of the Black woman serves more of traits than a stereotype. These traits are what have damaging effects on the Black women and their children. The assumed strength that Black women supposedly must possess is emotionally harmful to Black women, especially ones whose bodies were sexually violated (Harris, 111). Therefore, it is assumed that Black women are inherently strong and resilient, which is destructive for Black rape survivors because they are perceived as less traumatized than other victims (Donovan,

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of In Union There Is Strength By Mary Church Terrell

    720 Words  | 3 Pages

    White America was already painting the picture of what life for women: housewives. Terrell encourages African American women that they can be just a great of mother as the woman of the “dominant race” and more if they teach their children values and morals. She states, “If the women of the dominant race with all the centuries of education. refinement, and culture back of them, with all their wealth of opportunity ever present with them, if these women felt a responsibility to call a Mother's Congress that they might be ever enlightened as to the best methods of rearing children and conducting their homes, how much more do the women of our race from whom the shackles of slavery have just fallen need information on the same subjects? Let us have Mother Congresses in every community in which our women can be counseled.

    Read More

  • Uncovering The Control Tactics Used Against Enslaved Women During The Civil War

    2794 Words  | 12 Pages

    Typically, female slaves had roles in caregiving and raising the children of the plantation owners, this motherly relationship gave women the opportunity to conquer the divide between black and white. While there are cases of this happening, since black women were viewed as property, not as human, this relationship could be disregarded (West, 58) (Jacobs, 1). Often slave masters raised children that were the same age as their slaves, (these children often were half siblings as a result of the masters rape of female slaves) this means that the women grew up together and were given the opportunity to form strong relationships, however with their growth the two women would face very different fates. Slave masters “granted them (young slaves)

    Read More

  • Essay On African American Family Abuse

    793 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jonathan Metts Incest and Abuse in African American Households Despite centuries of change in African American society, inecst and physical abuse continue to be a prevalent problem in many black households. The number of lives and families affected by these types of abuse is truly astounding and appalling. Perhaps the most appalling element of these situations is the fact that it continues to occur frequently today.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In African American Culture

    1870 Words  | 8 Pages

    In a 2010 study that measured gender role belief in nearly 400 African American women, it was noted that the traditional gender role that is ascribed to white American women may not be relevant for African American women (Nguyen, et al., 2010). The cultural experience of African Americans in the United States from slavery to the civil rights era has an impact on their gender role views. The economic, political and social history of African Americans in the United States contribute to gender roles that are not clearly defined between male and female as African Americans men and women were made to perform in both gender roles at times.

    Read More

  • Essay On African American Mental Health

    392 Words  | 2 Pages

    MENTAL HEALTH: BLACK COMMUNITY Mental Health in the Black community has rapidly grown overtime. According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. (Mental Health American p. 3) Mental health disorder is popular in the Black community. Which can include: depression, ADHD and PTSD, which usually stem from either a violent past or background.

    Read More

  • Shirley Chisholm: The Black Woman's Role In Society

    551 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chisholm utilizes cause and effect to describe the unfair perspectives others have on African American women in society. When Chisholm states “ Since time immemorial the black man’s emasculation resulted in the need of the black woman to assert herself in order to maintain some semblance of a family unit.” As a result of this historical circumstance, the “black woman has developed perseverance.” Chisholm creates the generalization that black women are known for taking care of their families, while the men fight the political and

    Read More

  • Octavia Butler's Kindred As A Feminist

    1563 Words  | 7 Pages

    Today, oppressed women around the world still face difficulty regarding their personal survival, and the survival of their children in their communities. Butler, however, does a tremendous job in presenting the struggle of a woman with their limited ability to help themselves and their love ones. Another key contribution to women oppression is young men and the examples that they have in their lives. Rufus the boy/men from Kindred doesn’t respect the females slave, not even his mother. “He had spent his life watching his father ignore, even sell the children he had had with black women.

    Read More

  • Naughty By Nature Analysis

    511 Words  | 3 Pages

    This week, the readings point the spotlight at the some of the depressing hardships that the African-American population frequently experience. In “Naughty by Nature”, Ann Ferguson covers the different perceptions that society has of colored boys. David Knight’s work “Don’t tell young black males that they are endangered” seeks to explain the differents outcomes of African-American youth that arise when society constantly oppresses them. The last article by Carla O’Connor, “The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success”, focuses on the image of African-American woman that is created as a result of them attempting to preserve in a system that opposes them.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple Rhetorical Analysis

    1225 Words  | 5 Pages

    As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

    Read More

  • Angela Davis: A Social Activist

    869 Words  | 4 Pages

    To be specific, she situates the imminent feminist struggle by highlighting the legacy of slavery among black people, and black women in particular. “Black women bore the terrible burden of equality in oppression” (Davis). Due to her race, her writing focuses on what she understood and ideas that are relevant to black females. Conversely, since white men used black women in domestic labor and forcefully rape these individuals. These men used this powerful weapon to remind black women of their female and vulnerability.

    Read More

  • Dorothy Sterling We Are Your Sisters Analysis

    878 Words  | 4 Pages

    African American families during that time are often being torned apart with the women of the household widowed because the husbands were murdered. An example of such cases is Joe Johnson’s wife, where “white men saw him and shot him and he died and leaves [the wife], a poor widow with a housefull of children, and no one

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

    1288 Words  | 6 Pages

    Her tragedy reflects not only the sexism in the African American families in early 20th century, but also the uselessness

    Read More

  • Social Stratification In The Movie The Help

    610 Words  | 3 Pages

    Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Feminism In Toni Morrison's Beloved

    2515 Words  | 11 Pages

    She was influenced by the ideologies of women’s liberation movements and she speaks as a Black woman in a world that still undervalues the voice of the Black woman. Her novels especially lend themselves to feminist readings because of the ways in which they challenge the cultural norms of gender, slavery, race, and class. In addition to that, Morrison novels discuss the experiences of the oppressed black minorities in isolated communities. The dominant white culture disables the development of healthy African-American women self image and also she pictures the harsh conditions of black women, without separating them from the oppressed situation of the whole minority. In fact, slavery is an ancient and heinous institution which had adverse effects on the sufferers at both the physical as well as psychological levels.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Motherhood In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

    3280 Words  | 14 Pages

    Afro-American women writers present how racism permeates the innermost recesses of the mind and heart of the blacks and affects even the most intimate human relationships. While depicting the corrosive impact of racism from social as well as psychological perspectives, they highlight the human cost black people have to pay in terms of their personal relationships, particularly the one between mother and daughter. Women novelists’ treatment of motherhood brings out black mothers’ pressures and challenges for survival and also reveals their different strategies and mechanisms to deal with these challenges. Along with this, the challenges black mothers have to face in dealing with their adolescent daughters, who suffer due to racism and are heavily influenced by the dominant value system, are also underlined by these writers. They portray how a black mother teaches her daughter to negotiate the hostile, wider world, and prepares her to face the problems and challenges boldly and confidently.

    Read More

More about The Matriarch Image Analysis

Open Document