Citation:

Otto, E. A., Kumar, S. A., & DiLillo, D. (2022). Music’s Impact on the Sexualization of Black Bodies: Examining Links Between Hip-Hop and Sexualization of Black Women. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research., 27(2), 145–153. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.2.145

Main Idea:

Hip-hop music and other genres sexualizes Black women disproportionately and leads listeners to over-sexualize them accordingly

Thoughts & Questions:

If we find out when hip-hop became dominant in American culture, we can see if the hypersexualization of Black women coincided in emergence.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is hip hop a cause of over-sexualization of Blackness or an effect of it?

Main Idea:

Thoughts & Questions

Curtis, M. G., Karlsen, A. S., & Anderson, L. A. (2023). Transmuting Girls Into Women: Examining the Adultification of Black Female Sexual Assault Survivors Through Twitter Feedback. Violence Against Women, 29(2), 321-346. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/10778012221083334

Main Idea:

This article observes commentary made online (on then-Twitter now-X) about the TV show Surviving R Kelly, which depicts a man preying upon and abusing young Black women and girls. The article argues that the notion of girlhood or childhood looks different for Black girls and that they are portrayed as "adults" much earlier in comparison.

Thoughts & Questions:

Again, I encounter "the chicken or the egg" question. Why are Black girls forced to grow up "sooner" than their counterparts or non-Black peers, and is this a result of sexualization or a cause of it? Can Black girlhood or protecting Black childhood be an act of agency by Black women, especially Black mothers?

Leath, S., Jerald, M. C., Perkins, T., & Jones, M. K. (2021). A Qualitative Exploration of Jezebel Stereotype Endorsement and Sexual Behaviors Among Black College Women. Journal of Black Psychology, 47(4-5), 244-283. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/0095798421997215

Main Idea:

The "Jezebel" is an over-sexualized stereotype pinned upon Black women; however, dangerously and importantly, this stereotype changes how Black women see themselves.

Thoughts & Questions:

Can agency come from accepting this stereotype or leaning into it, or only from rejecting the stereotype? What are the different ways Black women embrace and refute the "Jezebel narrative"? Where did and does this narrative come from, in history and in contemporary society?

Keys, D. D. (2021). Black Women’s Lives Matter: Social Movements and Storytelling against Sexual and Gender-based Violence in the US. Feminist Review, 128(1), 163-168. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/01417789211013446

Main Idea:

Black women are more likely to experience sexual violence, and the Say Her Name movement is the leading movement against the sexual violence aimed at Black women in the USA. Narratives within this movement show that the violence lies at an intersection of racism and sexism.

Thoughts & Questions:

Black women have to and WILL defy both of these social frameworks whenever they resist or exercise agency within the reality of hypersexualization. They face both racism and sexism/misogyny due to their intersectional societal position.

VERY interesting article that argues basically that the advertisement agency and media make women look younger while making girls look older. There is this golden age that we are told societally is preferred.

Citation:

Gerding Speno, A., & Aubrey, J. S. (2018). Sexualization, Youthification, and Adultification: A Content Analysis of Images of Girls and Women in Popular Magazines. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(3), 625-646. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/1077699017728918

This article proves and explains how the Psychological effects of racism on people of color are so negative and severe that hey resemble impacts of PTSD.

Citation:

Carter, R. T. (2007). Racism and Psychological and Emotional Injury: Recognizing and Assessing Race-Based Traumatic Stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(1), 13-105. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/0011000006292033

Motro, D., Evans, J. B., Ellis, A. P. J., & Benson, L. (2022). Race and Reactions to Women’s Expressions of Anger at Work: Examining the Effects of the “Angry Black Woman” Stereotype. Journal of Applied Psychology., 107(1), 142–152. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000884

Key Takeaways:

• Anger and race are linked in stereotypes such as that of the “Angry Black Woman” 

  • This makes people more likely to engage in internal attributions when a Black person, especially a Black woman, reacts with anger even if the reaction is completely sensible given the circumstances and could be explained more comprehensively via external attribution

Thoughts:

• A similar attribution error may occur with Black women and perceived promiscuity

Williamson, T. L. (2020). “Sellin’ Your Own Body”: Contextualizing Racialized Gender Violence and Illicit Sexual Practice. Signs : Journal of Women in Culture and Society., 45(3), 524–528. https://doi.org/10.1086/706516

NOTE: I may explore this article further later on in my writing process. At this time, I have prioritized other scholars' work as more relevant to my argument.

Khan, C. (2020). Racialized sexualization & agency in exotic dance among women. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 24(3), 214–226. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1080/10894160.2019.1678930

Self objectification actually makes women feel worse about sex when done for the pleasure of an audience or another person and leads to less self-efficacy in terms of measurements such as condom-use.

Citation:

Ward, L. M., Seabrook, R. C., Grower, P., Giaccardi, S., & Lippman, J. R. (2018). Sexual Object or Sexual Subject? Media Use, Self-Sexualization, and Sexual Agency Among Undergraduate Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(1), 29-43. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/0361684317737940

Shows that violence for their sexuality is a normal part of life for Black women as soon as or even before they hit puberty.

Citation:

Bernard, C., & Carlile, A. (2021). Black girls navigate the physical and emotional landscape of the neighbourhood: Normalized violence and strategic agency. Qualitative Social Work, 20(3), 866-883. https://doi-org.ezproxy.princeton.edu/10.1177/1473325020920341