{"id":84525,"date":"2024-06-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/?p=84525"},"modified":"2024-06-27T10:01:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T17:01:52","slug":"mammy-jezebel-stereotypes-fueling-misogynoir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/mammy-jezebel-stereotypes-fueling-misogynoir\/","title":{"rendered":"From Mammy to Jezebel: Stereotypes Fueling Misogynoir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why are Black women subjected to more hostile sexism<\/a> and receive less care and aid as a result? Why are Black women, on average, three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause<\/a> than white women in the United States? Why are nearly 100,000 Black women and girls missing<\/a> and forgotten in the U.S.? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Are Black Women Invisible?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these injustices can be attributed to the same mental sickness \u2014 misogynoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining Misogynoir<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A portmanteau of the words \u201cmisogyny\u201d and \u201cnoir,\u201d the French word for \u201cblack,\u201d Merriam-Webster defines \u201cmisogynoir\u201d as \u201chatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against Black women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, Black women, who are victims of both racism and sexism, experience so much prejudice that a word in the dictionary was needed to explain the unique disdain and discrimination that our demographic specifically experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Malcolm X once famously said, \u201cThe most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stereotypes That Fuel Misogynoir<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In 1938, Shoghi Effendi<\/a>, the Guardian of the Baha\u2019i Faith<\/a>, stated<\/a> that \u201cracial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society\u201d <\/strong>should \u201cbe regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue\u201d <\/strong>in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what is prejudice but an emotional attachment to a stereotype that people believe to be true? Let\u2019s unpack these harmful stereotypes against Black women in the media and entertainment industry that are fueling misogynoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Mammy Stereotype<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Around a month ago, a family friend introduced my mother<\/a>, a Black woman, to one of his best friends. To all of our surprise, the first thing that he said to my mother was something like, \u201cI thought you would be a fat woman with no fashion sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you who have never seen my mother, she is a thin, healthy, attractive, and stylish African American woman. So, this man\u2019s offensive statement shocked us all. Our family friend remarked, \u201cJudgment,\u201d as people looked uncomfortable and laughed awkwardly. I wondered, why is that the first image that came to his mind when he thought of a Black woman? Then it hit me \u2014 this man was operating under the Mammy stereotype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
This is a photo of Edgar Martin\u2019s racist 1926 comic strip, “Boots and Her Buddies,” featuring Opal, a black maid character exemplifying the Mammy stereotype.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Mammy stereotype depicted an old, obese, unappealing, subservient, self-sacrificing, and dependent dark-skinned woman who was loyal to her enslavers. This racial caricature was created during slavery to legitimize the enslavement of people of African descent by painting this picture of a caregiver who was content with her oppression and happy to serve the family that enslaved her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This stereotype was popularized through minstrel shows \u2014 a type of 19th-century entertainment where white performers in blackface makeup portrayed Black people in exaggerated and demeaning ways, enforcing racist stereotypes of African Americans. The Mammy stereotype continued to be perpetuated through the branding of Aunt Jemima products by The Pearl Milling Company and in movies like \u201cGone with the Wind,\u201d “Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin,” and \u201cThe Help.\u201d This stereotype evoked nostalgia amongst white Americans for a past that was only painful for people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"1935
1935 advertisement for Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

2. The Jezebel Stereotype<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Jezebel stereotype hypersexualizes Black women and portrays them as promiscuous, seductive, and lewd to reduce them as an object that exists solely to sexually gratify others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jezebel stereotype originated during the time of slavery in the U.S. and was created to justify white enslavers\u2019 repeated rape of the Black women and girls that they enslaved, perpetuating the myth that these women and girls of African descent were willing temptresses rather than victims of horrific sexual violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Universal House of Justice<\/a>, the global governing body of the Baha\u2019i Faith, stated<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There can be no justification for anyone compelling another, through the use of force or through the threat of violence, to do that to which the other person is not inclined.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the Jezebel stereotype is still popular in music videos, movies, television shows, and now, artificial intelligence, perpetuating a dangerous and dehumanizing narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The Sapphire Stereotype<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The name \u201cSapphire\u201d came from a character on the television show, \u201cAmos \u2018n\u2019 Andy,\u201d which portrayed a nagging, angry wife named \u201cSapphire Stevens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sapphire stereotype depicts Black women as sassy, loud, angry, emasculating, aggressive, and domineering. This stereotype characterizes the hostile lens that African American women are often viewed through, eliciting more resentful attitudes and sexual harassment and assault, as opposed to the benevolent sexism that white women more often receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sapphire stereotype is often used to tone police and silence Black women for speaking up about the discrimination that they have faced \u2014 labeling each woman who tries to advocate for justice as an \u201cangry Black woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"A
A tweet discussing HERALD Sun cartoonist Mark Knight\u2019s 2018 racist drawing of Serena Williams, which exemplifies the Sapphire stereotype.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

While some progress has been made in how Black women are portrayed in the media and entertainment industry, we still have a long way to go as misogynoir is still alive and well \u2014 neglecting, wounding, and endangering women of African descent both in our nation and across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ending misogynoir is crucial not only for the sake of Black women, but for the sake of the world. The Baha\u2019i writings emphasize that to achieve world peace, we must end both racism and sexism, and misogynoir is a product of both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why are Black women subjected to more hostile sexism and receive less care and aid as a result? Why are Black women, on average, three times more likely to die…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64356,"featured_media":84549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2948],"tags":[2978,3170,2994,3198,3058,2976],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84525"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84547,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84525\/revisions\/84547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84525"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=84525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}