At the Crossroads: Racial and Womanist Identity Development in Black and White Women

This study explored the hypothesis that womanist identity and racial identity development are related. The racial identiy and womanist identity attitudes of 214 women were measured using the Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale, the White Racial Identity Attitude Scales (WRIAS), and the Womanist Identity Attitude Scale. Canonical correlation analysis was used to determine the nature of relationships among racial identity and womanist identity attitudes. Results showed that for Black women there was a significant relation between racial identity and womanist identity attitudes. Specifically, Internalization attitudes on the WRIAS were positively related to Level II (Encounter) and Level IV (Internalization) attitudes on the Womanist Identity Attitude Scale. Despite a larger number of White participants, no such relationship emerged for White women. Implications for theory, research, and counseling are discussed.     

An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Womanist Identity Attitudes Scale

Responses from 101 African American/Black and 100 White women were used to examine the psychometric properties of the Womanist Identity Attitudes Scale (WIAS; Ossana, 1986; Ossana, Helms, & Leonard, 1992). First, internal consistency reliabilities suggested the need for further development of 3 of the 4 WIAS subscales. Second, links between WIAS scores and (a) sexist, (b) hostile sexist attitudes toward women, (c) benevolently sexist attitudes toward women, and (d) egalitarian attitudes toward women's rights and roles provided mixed support for the convergent validity of the WIAS. Third, consistent with theoretical conceptualization, the intercorrelations among WIAS subscales were similar for African American/Black and White women. These intercorrelations, however, were not entirely consistent with the theorized developmental process of the womanist identity model. Finally, the structural validity of the WIAS was examined using confirmatory and exploratory factor-analytic procedures. Both sets of analyses challenged the fit of the theorized womanist identity development model with data produced by the WIAS.     

Womanist Identity and Mental Health

The authors explored the relationship between Helms's “womanist identity” attitudes and the mental health of Black and White women. Results showed that Black and White women have different patterns of responses to both womanist and mental health scales. For White women in the sample, Immersion-Emersion and, to a lesser extent, Encounter attitudes were related to 7 types of psychological symptomatology. For Black women, no such relationship between womanist attitudes and mental health was found.     

THE MODERATING ROLES OF RACE AND GENDER-ROLE ATTITUDES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

Although previous research has linked sexual harassment to negative psychological outcomes, few studies have focused on moderators of these relationships. The present study surveyed Black ( n = 88) and White ( n = 170) female undergraduates who endorsed experiences of sexual harassment to examine whether traditional gender attitudes differentially moderated the relationship between sexual harassment and three outcomes: posttraumatic stress symptoms, general clinical symptoms, and satisfaction with life. We replicated past findings that sexual harassment is related to negative outcomes. Further, the results supported our hypothesis that less traditional gender attitudes (i.e., more feminist attitudes) would buffer the negative effects of sexual harassment for White women, whereas the same attitudes would exacerbate its negative effects for Black women. We discuss reasons for these differences, including Black women's double consciousness and differences in the meaning of feminist and traditional gender attitudes for Black and White women.     

Black Women's Self-Perceptions of Attractiveness Following Exposure to White Versus Black Beauty Standards: The Moderating Role of Racial Identity and Self-Esteem

This study examined racial identity, self-esteem, and Black versus White beauty standards as moderators of body image perceptions among 60 Black women. In two experimental conditions, subjects evaluated photographs of either three Black models or three White models, all previously determined to be attractive. Control group subjects did not evaluate photographs. All subjects then completed measures of their own body esteem and attractiveness. Results indicated that body esteem was positively related to self-esteem for subjects in the photograph conditions but not for subjects in the control condition. The relative attractiveness ratings of self versus models were dependent on race of the models and subjects' self-esteem, and on race of the models and subjects' racial identity. The first interaction indicated more favorable comparative ratings for subjects with high self-esteem, but only following exposure to White models. The second interaction indicated more favorable comparative ratings for subjects with high African self-consciousness, but only following exposure to White models. Taken together, the results suggest that explicit beauty standards engage a comparison process and, in the case of Black respondents with high self-esteem or with high African self-consciousness, result in self-evaluations that are significantly higher than the attractiveness attributed to White standards of beauty.     

Racial differences in narcissistic tendencies

Black individuals have been found to report the highest levels of self-esteem of any racial group in the United States. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether Black individuals also report higher levels of narcissism than White individuals. Study 1 (N = 367) found that Black individuals reported higher levels of narcissism than White individuals even when controlling for gender, self-esteem level, and socially desirable response tendencies. Study 2 (N = 967) and Study 3 (N = 315) found similar results such that Black individuals reported higher levels of narcissism than White individuals on the narcissism measures that captured less pathological facets of this construct. Study 3 also included indicators of psychological adjustment and found that the pathological aspects of narcissism were more strongly associated with maladjustment for Black individuals than for White individuals. The implications of these results for understanding the Black self-esteem advantage are discussed.     

What Makes a Feminist? Predictors and Correlates of Feminist Social Identity in College Women

What factors predict self-identification as a feminist? College women ( N = 233) were given measures of feminist ideology, feminist identity development, evaluation of feminists, collectivism and individualism. Feminist identification was measured both as a dichotomous and a continuous variable. Measured dichotomously, feminist self-identification was predicted by not having conservative beliefs and having a positive general evaluation of feminists. In addition, self-identified feminists were more likely to believe in collective action, to hold liberal, radical, and womanist ideologies, and to endorse items in the Synthesis stage of identity development. They were less likely to believe a feminist is a lesbian, to endorse items in the Passive Acceptance stage, and to believe in the existence of a meritocracy. Measured continuously, degree of feminist identity was predicted by having a positive general evaluation of feminists, not having conservative beliefs, and endorsing items in the Revelation and Embeddedness/Emanation stages of identity development. The two measures of feminist identity were not entirely congruent, underlining the importance of methodological differences in measuring social identity.     

Do “Womanist” Identity Attitudes Influence College Women's Self-Esteem and Perceptions of Environmental Bias?

Helms (1990) proposed a four-stage model of womanist identity in which she hypothesized that development of healthy identity in women involves movement from external standards of gender identity to internal standards. Attitudes derived from her model were used to predict undergraduate women's self-esteem and perceptions of sex bias in the campus environment. Female undergraduates (N = 659), freshmen through seniors, were surveyed in classes at a large eastern university. Results indicated that Encounter (characterized by questioning of previously held stereotypical views about gender and dawning awareness of alternative perspectives) and Immersion-Emersion (characterized by an active rejection of male supremacist values and beliefs and the search for a positive self-affirming definition of womanhood) attitudes were inversely related to perceptions of environmental gender bias and positively related to self-esteem. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

Race and Girls’ Self-Evaluations: How Mothering Matters

Research conducted in the United States shows that Black adolescent girls have higher self-esteem and, to a lesser extent, a higher sense of control than White girls. However, few studies conducted with representative samples of Black and White girls systematically examine why Black girls may have higher self-esteem and sense of control. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we posit that Black mothers’ socialization of their daughters may explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control. Using survey data collected in 1994 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. Black (N?=?1,330) and White (N?=?3,797) girls and their mothers, we examine racial differences across two key components of the self-concept: self-esteem and sense of control. We ask: 1) Do Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls? 2) Do Black girls have more positive relationships with their mothers and receive more encouragement of academic achievement and independence from their mothers than White girls? and 3) Do more positive mother-daughter relationships and mothers’ encouragement help to explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control in comparison to White girls? Findings indicate that Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls, and Black mothers’ relationship with their daughters and stronger encouragement of daughters’ independence in part explain race differences in self-evaluations.     

Testing a Moderated Mediation Model of Objectification Theory among Black Women in the United States: The Role of Protective Factors

Recent studies find that Black women experience rates of eating pathology and body dissatisfaction comparable to those of White women. Abundant research suggests that objectification theory could help explain the development and maintenance of eating disorder (ED) symptoms among diverse women. However, research on the applicability of objectification theory to ED symptoms in Black women is equivocal. Specifically, some have suggested that body surveillance might operate differently for Black women. Thus, the current study examined ethnic-racial identity (ERI) commitment and body appreciation as moderators of the mediated associations among body surveillance, body shame, and ED symptoms. Black women (n?=?175) in the United States completed measures of body image, ERI commitment, and ED symptoms. Consistent with objectification theory, body shame mediated the association between body surveillance and ED symptoms. Contrary to our hypothesis, ERI commitment did not moderate the link between body surveillance and body shame. However, body appreciation was a significant moderator, such that the strength of the relation between body surveillance and ED symptoms via body shame was weakened at high levels of body appreciation. Future work should consider interventions that foster body appreciation in Black women.

     

Racial Identity and Body Image Among Black Female College Students Attending Predominately White Colleges

This study examined attitudes about body image and racial identity among Black women at a predominately White college in the United States. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 34 women about their school experiences, family, racial identity, self-esteem, and body image. We found that early childhood influences including family and school environment had profound impacts on their racial identity and body image. Through a qualitative analysis based in grounded theory, we found that participants’ identification with White and/or Black culture produced levels of body satisfaction and a set of beauty ideals that generally corresponded to four racial identity groups: identification with White or Black culture, floating between both, or having a diverse self-identity.     

Gender and ethnic differences in the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem.

Gender and ethnic differences in the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem were examined to assess the degree to which these variables change in relation to each other over time. Difference scores (between Time 1 and Time 2, 1 week apart) were obtained using the Self-Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1979) and the Body Esteem Scale (S. L. Franzoi & S. A. Shields, 1984) for 163 White women, 140 White men, 55 Black women, and 37 Black men. The results indicated that the correlation of the difference scores was stronger for the group of White women than for the other 3 groups, suggesting that changes in self-esteem parallel changes in body esteem more for White women than for White men, Black men, and Black women. The findings are discussed in relation to the prevalence of bulimia nervosa among White women.     

Women Derive Collective Self-Esteem from Their Feminist Identity

Women's self-esteem is more strongly related to social acceptance and inclusion than to accomplishments. We investigated the extent to which women derive self-esteem from being women, that is, from their membership in a collective gender group. We hypothesized and found that women's collective self-esteem (i.e., self-esteem derived from their gender group) would systematically vary for women showing differing degrees of feminist development. Thus, women's self-esteem derived from womanhood seems to depend on the "meaning" of womanhood to the individual woman.     

Racial Attitudes and the Death Penalty1

This study investigated the relationship between overt and subtle forms of racism with Whites' recommendations for capital sentencing of Black and White offenders convicted of murder. White participants (n= 104) viewed 5 other “jurors” (all Whites or 4 Whites and 1 Black) on videotape individually presenting their decisions to vote for the death penalty in the case. It was hypothesized that the bias of high prejudice-scoring participants would be overt, but that the pattern for low prejudice-scoring participants would be more complex. As predicted, among high prejudice-scoring participants, Black defendants received stronger recommendations for the death penalty than did White defendants. Among low prejudice-scoring White participants, Black offenders received stronger recommendations for the death penalty only when a Black juror advocated the death penalty.     

Factor Analysis of Physique-Stereotyped Traits

Abstract

The prevalence of rape myths contributes to victims' reluctance to report rapes. Black (n = 30) and White (n = 96) U.S. college students responded to the Rape Myth Scale (Burt, 1980) and read a scenario of an acquaintance rape; the race of the perpetrator and victim (Black or White) were varied. The respondents assessed the victim's and perpetrator's responsibility and evaluated the incident. As hypothesized, the respondents with strong beliefs in rape myths were more tolerant of the rapist and less tolerant of the victim than were those with weaker beliefs. There was limited support for the myth of the Black rapist and White victim; however, the myth of the Black rapist appeared particularly strong among the Black respondents. The women responded more negatively to the rapist and more positively to the victim than the men did. Such biases in attitudes toward rape could keep women from reporting rapes and accused rapists from receiving fair trials.     

Race and Nation: How Racial Hierarchy Shapes National Attachments

We contend that the boundaries and nature of national attachments are shaped by the position of one's group within America's racial order, with higher status yielding more racially exclusive forms of identity. We test our claims in the realm of xenophobia. Using an original survey of African Americans (n = 1,000) and Whites (n = 1,000), we assess national pride, nationalism, nativism, and racial identity, plus affect toward various immigrant groups. We establish that national attachments have racially varied meanings, thereby producing sharp differences in each racial group's response to foreigners. Although national pride is unrelated to White antipathy toward outsiders, nationalism and nativism increase White hostility to immigrants—except when they are White. In contrast, national pride diminishes African American hostility to Black and non‐Black immigrants, while nativism is generally unrelated to Black antipathy to outsiders. Finally, while nationalism heightens xenophobia among Blacks, this sentiment envelops all foreigners—including African immigrants. We discuss our results' implications for theories of national attachment in intergroup settings.     

General And Culturally Specific Factors Influencing Black And White Rape Survivors' Self-Esteem

Grounded in a culturally inclusive ecological model of sexual assault recovery framework, the influence of personal (e.g., prior victimization), rape context (e.g., degree of injury during last assault), and postrape response factors (e.g., general and cultural attributions, rape related coping) on self-esteem of Black and White college women, who were survivors of attempted and completed rape, were examined. As predicted, Black and White women identified similar general variables (e.g., general attributions) as important in the recovery process. Black women, however, identified a cultural factor (i.e., cultural attributions) as more important in influencing their reactions to the last rape compared to their White counterparts. Using path analysis, findings from this cross-sectional study indicated that severity of the last assault and prior victimization were related to lower self-esteem indirectly through avoidance coping strategies, and victim blame attributions for the latter. Results also suggested that the link between cultural attributions and self-esteem was explained through victim blame attributions, primarily for Black participants. The model accounted for 26% of variance in self-esteem.     

Death Unto Life: The Power of the Incarnation

Black families traditionally print photographs, poems, songs and sayings in funeral programs as a tribute to the deceased. These artistic expressions, which are part of the black funeral tradition, communicate a theology of death and the afterlife. Yet, the contributions of black, feminist, womanist and pastoral theologies are conventionally ignored in the development of theologies of death. This essay explores the practical implications of using elements of these theologies—black, feminist, womanist and pastoral—to effectively minister to a person with fears, doubts, and questions, and who is facing death. These theologies reveal that death is not the enemy of the dying person who taps into the power of the Incarnation—the “erotic power” housed in human flesh that overcomes and triumphs over death.     

The Impact of Feminist Attitudes on the Relation between Racial Awareness and Racial Identity

This study examined the role of liberal and inclusive feminist attitudes in the development of a positive racial identity in a sample of White female undergraduates in the Midwestern United States. Participants (N?=?90) provided self-report data on their racial awareness, liberal and inclusive feminist attitudes, racial identity and demographic information. The main research question was how and to what extent liberal and inclusive feminism influence the relationship between racial awareness and racial identity. Building on conceptual scholarship on identity theory and the intersectionality, results indicated that the relation between racial awareness and racial identity was partially mediated by inclusive feminist attitudes but not by liberal feminist attitudes. The results suggest that a specific type of feminism, which takes into account the experience of race, plays a significant role in our understanding of how White women develop a positive White identity. Results highlight the intersection of race and gender in college student development and have potential implications for administrative responses to student adjustment in increasingly diverse college environments.     

EDUCATING ABOUT WOMEN AND GENDER

This study assesses the multiple effects of planned exposure to gender and women's issues on graduate student development. Students in a gender-aware Counseling Psychology program (n = 63) were compared to those in two other graduate psychology programs (total n = 38) on five scales that measured exposure to gender issues, social constructivist views, feminist identity development, performance self-esteem, and endorsement of feminist therapy goals and strategies. Results supported the hypotheses that all outcome measures were significantly correlated with the extent of academic experiences related to women and gender. Program of concentration and level of graduate training were differentially related to social construction views and stages of feminist identity development. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for gender-aware education in the development of student identity, attitudes, and professional practice.