Devalued, Overdisciplined, and Stereotyped: An Exploration of Gendered Racial Microaggressions Among Black Adolescent Girls

Public Significance Statement The purpose of this study was to explore subtle forms of gendered racism experienced by Black adolescent girls in their everyday lives. Findings can be applied to researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers to create supportive programming for Black girls and reform the school policies and practices that have a disproportionately negative impact on the lives of Black girls. There is a burgeoning body of research on gendered racial microaggressions, which are subtle and everyday slights and insults based on the intersection of racism and sexism. However, much of the existing research has focused on Black adult women and less is known about the experiences of Black adolescent girls. The purpose of this study was to utilize a Black feminist and intersectionality framework to extend the research by developing a taxonomy of gendered racial microaggressions experienced by Black adolescent girls. A community sample of 33 Black adolescent girls between the ages of 14 and 17 (M = 15, SD = .92) were recruited through high schools, community organizations, and churches in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through four semistructured focus group interviews using dimensional analysis. Findings of this study uncovered several themes, which included three core themes with three subthemes each: Standards of Beauty and Objectification (Assumptions of Aesthetics, Devaluation, and Hair Exoticism), Silenced and Marginalized (Invisibility, Overdisciplined, and Assumptions of Intelligence and Communication Styles), and Projected Stereotypes (Expectation of the Angry Black Girl, Expectation of the Ghetto Black Girl, and Expectation of the Jezebel). Findings of this study can be applied to researchers, practitioners, and educators to better meet the needs of Black adolescent girls.