Strong Black Woman

Strong Black Woman The role of a strong black woman persists today however is more prominent now than it was during slavery. Patricia Hill-Collins argues that two of many of our society’s controlling images for black women is the matriarch and mammy. These two controlling images are plastered throughout media and movies who are, for the most part, written and produced by black men and women. This aids in justifying the fact that although the labels the white man has placed on black women are criticized by some, they are heavily believed and many black men and women currently live under these labels today.

Black women are seen to be one of the strongest species to ever walk planet earth. With this, emotional standards and expectations for

Preceding the early 1960s, Hill-Collins noted that households were being ran by single black mothers. Continuing today, single black women are the heads of households and breadwinners with and without a man being in the household. The stigma of mammy and matriarch aids in stripping the male counterpart of his ordained duties as a man which is one of the supposed leading reasons why older black women are single. This is hardly a struggle for some black women, being that the stripping of a male from the household is apart of our history starting back in slavery. The absence of the male in the household and in relationships, financially and emotionally, influenced a strength in women that hinders the growth in current relationships and the start of any new relationship. This stigma of the strong black woman persists throughout the production of films who are produced by both black men and women. For instance, in the movie ‘For Colored Girls’, which is about seven strong black women, to some, who tries to navigate through life in New York City while overcoming each unfortunate event they encounter on a daily basis. Each character has their own identity and struggle, which in the play ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf’ was symbolized by the colors in the rainbow including brown which symbolized the black

Scenes after showed very little of her responding emotionally to the things she had witnessed. Even when she attempted to show some emotion for the sake of other people, she believed, she had to clear her face up and get herself together to be strong for everyone else. The ties into the role of black women during slavery, being the backbone in and out of the household, a plethora of empathic and sympathetic reactions to incidents had to be displaced. There is no such thing as crying on the job or crying with hopes that things will just get better in the black community. Some, as Jo, were and still are being taught to work now to get past the trouble and cry if you ever have time to but it is hardly ever recommended. As if to say that money will solve all problems, so do not worry about the things that will not bring you