{"id":472,"date":"2021-09-28T11:39:10","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T15:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/smithwrites\/?p=472"},"modified":"2021-09-28T11:39:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T15:39:10","slug":"not-yours-the-solemn-art-of-the-strong-black-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/smithwrites\/issue-2\/not-yours-the-solemn-art-of-the-strong-black-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Yours: The Solemn Art of the Strong Black Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

In analyzing the written and cinematic works of Joan Morgan, Beyonc\u00e9 Knowles, and Audre Lorde, Gracia Bareti explores how these three women use artistic self expression to challenge the stereotype of the Strong Black Woman. Her rich analysis examines how the Strong Black Woman stereotype has been enforced externally and internally in the lives and minds of Black women. Ultimately, she powerfully illustrates how Black women use their art to freely express themselves, connect with one another, and re-define themselves.\u00a0 –Caty Maloney \u201822, Editorial Assistant<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Not Yours: The Solemn Art of the Strong Black Woman<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Gracia Bareti ’24<\/strong><\/h5>\n
“You do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside each other. I do not have to be you to recognize that our wars are the same. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities. And in order to do this, we must allow each other our differences at the same time as we recognize our sameness. “(Audre Lorde, The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde,<\/i> 217)\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n
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Dagmar Schultz. “Audre Lorde, Berlin.” (1984)\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Black women have taken on all of life’s burdens and they have done it on their own, Audre Lorde tells us, even though life is a partnership–black men and women live through the same oppressions–and no one gender should have to take on all of the burden. This unfairness is captured in the Strong Black Women (SBW) stereotype that ultimately disregards black women’s humanity and damages their mental health.\u00a0 Because they have to be strong, black women cannot show weakness by discussing their trauma and frustration with how society treats them. They have experienced racism intertwined with sexism even from other black people, but they have nonetheless been expected to suppress their emotions for the benefit of the race.\u00a0 They have to take care of everyone but themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black women use outlets such as music and writing to address their feelings and thoughts not for the benefit of men or the white elitist society we live in, but for themselves, conclusively building a community for black women.\u00a0 Many black people, but especially black men, have developed a deeply rooted self-hatred as a result of systems of oppression, but black men often project these negative emotions onto black women: in response, black women have countered these onslaughts by staying true to themselves through their art, leaving it up to the world to interpret and recognize the harm of the SBW stereotype.\u00a0 The flexibility inherent in aesthetic interpretation makes it a powerful expressive medium for black women to support one another. Writer Joan Morgan, pop artist Beyonc\u00e9 Knowles, and writer Audre Lorde all use art to express themselves and to connect with other black women. They’re aware that no one will ever understand black women except for black women, as they are the only ones who\u2019ve encountered the stereotypes used to oppress them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Joan Morgan. When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost (Cover Image). 2000.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In her book, <\/span>When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost<\/span><\/i>, Joan Morgan describes the figure of a SBW as someone who conquers all of life’s challenges with ease and provides support for everyone while not expecting anything in return (87). The SBW persona is a double standard, as it forces black women to nurture everyone, but not hold that same expectation for anyone else. Morgan argues that black women should leave this double standard behind. She writes, \u201cWhat I kicked to the curb was the years of social conditioning that told me it was my destiny to live my life as a BLACKSUPERWOMAN Emeritus,\u201d asserting that black women know that how they\u2019ve been treated is wrong (87). The \u201ckicking to the curb\u201d reference, often used regarding relationships, hints at the frustration black women feel within their relationships with others, especially black men, for not reciprocating the same compassion and care. Morgan addresses the impact these stereotypes have on black women and tries to humanize and personalize the negative effects the SBW stereotype have on black women, who are frustrated with how society constrains them to roles they do not choose.\u00a0 Morgan\u2019s writing expresses this frustration in the effort to fight back, and asserts that the social conditioning dictating how black women are viewed is what needs to be \u201ckicked to the curb.\u201d Through writing about it, she frees herself from the \u201csuper blackwoman\u201d stereotype: by naming this stereotype, she opens the conversation about the impact of this damaging trope on black women\u2019s experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to Morgan, Beyonc\u00e9 uses art as a form of liberation and expression through her visual album <\/span>Lemonade<\/span><\/i>, which, through the use of cinematography in collaboration with symbolism found in nature, gives viewers a closer look into the experience of being a black woman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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