Authors:

Alexsa Salvador Midamba

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About Paper:

Stereotypes of Black women, deeply rooted in a history that casts concepts of whiteness and blackness (e.g., "Strong Black woman", "Jezebel", "Mammy", and "Sapphire") as oppositional, continue to shape portrayals of Black womanhood in media and film [1]. But, how do everyday perceivers not only internalize but reproduce these portrayals with minimal cueing? This study adapts the Draw a Scientist test [2, 3], exploring how college students (N = 76) between the ages of 17 and 26 (M = 18.96, SD = 1.78) visually represent Black women through the lens of hair texture. We hypothesized that most participants would draw natural vs. straight hair. Additionally, we predicted that natural hair depictions would co-occur with a higher frequency of stereotypical inferences (e.g., Mammy, Jezebel, Sapphire) when compared with straight hair depictions. Participants completed a drawing task, followed by a survey probing their elemental choices (e.g., having a specific person in mind while drawing). Drawings were coded for hair type (straight vs. natural), and hair subtype within natural hair (e.g., tight curls, loose curls, and braids/braided) using a coding scheme with interrater reliability (k >.80). Results demonstrated hair depicted in 97% of drawings, with mostly natural hair depicted (81.57%), indicating hair texture serving as a salient racial cue in representations of Black women. Hair texture systemically co-occurred with specific trait inferences (e.g., gold jewelry, red lipstick). Participants, most of whom "didn't draw a specific person in mind" (66%), spontaneously produced depictions that reflected both historically rooted stereotypes (e.g., Mammy, Jezebel, Sapphire) and emerging contemporary stereotype content. Select associated inferences based on hair type include tightly curled hair associated with strength, labor, and burden, while straight hair was linked to professional characteristics. Findings help to shed light on the importance of examining intragroup variability to better understand how stereotypes are maintained and applied.

Source:

Loyola University Chicago

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Co-authors:

Alexsa Salvador Midamba