Black women are often displayed in the media as loud, unintelligent and are still highly sexualized as they were during times of enslavement (Jeffries & Jeffries). |
The slave owner’s exploitation of the Black woman’s sexuality was one of the most notable elements differentiating the experience of slavery for men and women. Much throughout slavery and well into the Jim Crow Era, America deemed Black women as innately lustful beings (PBS, 2004). During slavery, Black women were stripped of their clothing then, oiled down so that perspective buyers/ slave masters could poke and prod them. |
Black women are more likely to embody masculine characteristics, such as assertiveness or independence (Hall & Pichon, 2014).
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Lighter-skinned Black women are deemed more beautiful than darker-skinned Black women (Stephens & Thomas, 2012).
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