An Ethic of Resistance: Choosing Life in Health Messages for African American Women

Media messages directed to African American women are more likely to have health content that emphasizes negative outcomes or sexual stereotypes. This paper critiques the use of health messages that focus on high mortality and morbidity rates, yet have not reduced health disparities, but have instead reduced Black women’s bodies to carriers of disease. I introduce an ethic of resistance that privileges the authority and wholeness of Black women rather than disease and fragmentation. An ethic of resistance helps Black women connect to their spiritual health, move from passive receiver to active resister of negative messages, and break the generational silence to demystify sexuality and integrate it into a lifestyle of wholeness. My hope is to improve the health outcomes of African American women by improving the message.