A Journey Through Black Womanhood

This blog explores Black womanhood. It seeks to trace Black women's relationship with femininity, partnership, friendship, and identity. I look at the Black woman as she’s represented in media, as she’s defined by her community, and as she defines herself. I want to use the black feminist lens to explore the controversies and the joys that Black women exist within. In my Trad Wives discussion, I examine what it means for Black women to be “traditional wives;” I’ll explore how and why it differs from the mainstream “trad wife” trend of today. I explore the Black woman’s sexuality and respecatability politics by dissecting the tropes and their repercussions on Black femininity in media; I’d like to focus on who decided on these images and portrayals. I’ll use Toni Morrison’s Sula and Nella Larsen’s Passing to discuss Black feminity, classism, colorism and more. I dive into Black women’s rage in discussion with Kadijah MBowe’s video on the topic by highlighting black feminist literature that agrees or disagrees with her perspective. I discuss womanism and black feminism in relationship with Alice Walker’s poem “Democratic Womanism.” Finally, I speak on Black Feminism in the digital space in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele’s book Digital Black Feminsm.