Peer-reviewed article
Strong and silently suffering: Black girls and the Strong Black Woman schema
Brittany S. Johnson, Shaquanna Brown, Tracey M. Guthrie ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This piece looks at how Black girls in America learn the 'Strong Black Woman' schema, the expectation that they stay composed and hide pain. The authors, who are Black women, draw on shared childhood experiences. They open with an example in a pediatric waiting room, where a Black child was treated differently from a White child for the same behaviour. The Black girl who watched her mother lose composure in response learned that life is unfair and that expressing pain brings no benefit. The authors say this schema harms Black girls and that they intend to educate others about it.
Key points
- Childhood is described as a critical developmental period when children come to understand societal norms and expectations.
- The authors, Black women, say their shared childhood experiences shaped their early understanding of what it means to be Black in America.
- In the example given, a Black child was stopped by a security guard for behaviour that a White child was welcomed for.
- The girl who watched this learned that she must always behave in public and that no one would care about her pain.
- The authors say she would fall victim to the 'Strong Black Woman' schema and later educate others about its harms.
Limitations
Only the opening of the paper is available, with a single anecdote and no data, methods or findings. It cannot tell us how common the schema is among Black girls or what its measured effects are.
Abstract
Childhood is a critical developmental period characterized by awareness and understanding of societal norms and expectations. As Black women, we share childhood experiences that formed the basis of our early understanding of what it truly means to be Black in America. Creating a sense of community through our shared experiences, the authors recounted experiences like this one: In a pediatric waiting room years ago, a White child played with a velvet curtain, and was met with adoring gazes and friendly smiles. Minutes later, a Black child playing with the same velvet curtain was immediately approached by a security guard and asked to stop the behavior. Their Black mother verbally exploded at the security guard in defense of her child, condemning racialized double standards to the guard's back as he walked away. The little Black girl who watched her mother publicly lose composure for the first time began learning a lesson that would stay with her for the rest of her life – she was Black, and that had rules. Life would not be fair, but she must always behave in public, and because no one would care about her pain, there was no benefit in expressing it. This girl would fall victim to the “Strong Black Woman” schema, and one day educate others about its harms.