Examples Of Hypersexualization In Black Girls

From Child to Object: The Disturbing Trend of Hypersexualization in Black Girls

By: Carley Moore (1005159953)

April 7, 2023

DISCUSSIONS OF INNOCENCE AND PUBERTY

Within popular media, young Black girls are often depicted as sexually promiscuous and more “adult” when compared to their white counterparts– think of Chloe Bailey on “Grown-ish” and media commentary on Willow Smith as a Teenager. The hypersexualization of young girls within media is fairly commonplace— as the saying goes, “sex sells”. However, when it comes to the depiction of Black girls in the stage of “precocious puberty” (ages 9-12), Black girls are more likely to be perceived as deviant and to embody “uncontrolled eroticism and sensuality” [1]. While white peers are seen as

Black girls begin puberty—determined by the presence of breast buds- earlier than white girls; the average ages are 8.87 and 9.96, respectively [1]. This early puberty subjects Black girls to the phenomenon known as “adultification”, defined as “the attribution of adult motives to their desires” [1]. This intersection of racial and gendered stereotyping depicts these girls as dangerously sexual, placing them in a position of what Evelynn Hammonds—Harvard Professor of African American Studies— describes as a cultural rendering of sexualities as a “metaphorical Black w(hole) [1]. Hammond’s concept describes the paradoxically designed social connotations that position Black women and girls as both asexual and undesirable, yet simultaneously as a seductive threat and danger to white people

In her book, “Policing Black Lives”, Robyn Maynard discusses how race and gender intersect as compounding factors that push Black girls out of schools [5]. This can lead to what is known as the “School to Prison Pipeline”, where Black girls, who are seen as more deviant in schools receive more surveillance, leading to more punishment such as suspension or expulsion [5]. When out of school, Black girls often are left to spend more time in public spaces, which results in higher rates of police surveillance and harassment, which concludes in higher arrest rates