1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910454854503321

Autore

Beauboeuf-Lafontant Tamara

Titolo

Behind the mask of the strong black woman [[electronic resource] ] : voice and the embodiment of a costly performance / / Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Philadelphia, : Temple University Press, c2009

ISBN

1-282-32905-7

9786612329050

1-59213-669-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (195 p.)

Disciplina

155.6/3308996073

Soggetti

Women, Black - Psychology

Women, Black - Social conditions

Character

Determination (Personality trait)

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

A half-told tale of black womanhood -- More than "the historical, the monolithic me" : deconstructing strong black womanhood -- Living the lies : embodying "good" womanhood -- Keeping up appearances : the performance of strength -- Lies make us sick : embodied distress among strong black women -- Coming to voice : transcending strength -- Epilogue : mules no more, just "levelly human" : a societal challenge.

Sommario/riassunto

The defining quality of Black womanhood is strength, states Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant in Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman. But, she argues, the idea of strength undermines its real function: to defend and maintain a stratified social order by obscuring Black women's experiences of suffering, acts of desperation, and anger. This provocative book lays bare the common perception that strength is an exemplary or defining quality of "authentic" Black womanhood.The author, a noted sociologist, interviews 58 Black women about being strong and proud, to illustrate their "perform