Black Girl Magic: Strength, Resiliency, and Suffering? A Qualitative Exploration of Toxic Black Femininity and Intimate Partner Violence

IF 1 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL
Lorin Kelly, Amber Vennum, Char’dae C. Bell
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Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of six Black women who survived Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) through the frameworks of Toxic Black Femininity (TBF), Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and Intersectionality to understand how coping with ongoing systemic racism influences meaning making of IPV experiences and help-seeking behaviors. Participants discussed how narratives within Black families and churches influenced how they coped with the trauma symptoms resulting from their IPV victimization and navigate relationships now. Specifically, participants’ experience of TBF and associated adherence to racial and gendered norms and stereotypes showed up as: 1) a felt pressure to portray strength, 2) rationalize the abuse, 3) advocate for their partner’s needs but not their own, and 4) blame themselves for the abuse. Further, when participants sought help, they: 1) avoided actions that could lead to police involvement due to fear of police brutality against their male partners, 2) had their hurt minimized due to white expectations of Blackness, 3) heard narratives from family and religious systems that reinforced TBF and their decision to stay in the harmful relationship, and 4) turned their frustrations with the lack of helpful support systems into advocacy. These findings highlight the intergenerational transmission of survival skills and narratives that have been passed down to Black women since the time of slavery and how systemic racism and TBF keep these narratives in play.

黑人女孩的魔力:力量、韧性和苦难?对有毒黑人女性特质和亲密伴侣暴力的定性探索
这项现象学研究通过有毒黑人女性特质(TBF)、创伤后奴隶综合症和交叉性等框架,探讨了六名从亲密伴侣暴力(IPV)中幸存下来的黑人妇女的生活经历,以了解应对持续的系统性种族主义如何影响 IPV 经历的意义建构和求助行为。参与者讨论了黑人家庭和教会中的叙事如何影响她们如何应对 IPV 受害后产生的创伤症状,以及如何处理现在的人际关系。具体而言,参与者的 TBF 经验以及与之相关的对种族和性别规范及陈规定型观念的遵守表现为1)感到有压力,需要表现出自己的力量;2)将虐待合理化;3)为伴侣的需求而不是自己的需求代言;4)将虐待归咎于自己。此外,当参与者寻求帮助时,他们1)由于害怕警察对其男性伴侣施暴,避免采取可能导致警察介入的行动;2)由于白人对黑人的期望,她们的伤害被最小化;3)听到来自家庭和宗教系统的叙述,这些叙述强化了 TBF 以及她们留在有害关系中的决定;以及 4)将她们对缺乏有用的支持系统的挫败感转化为倡导。这些发现凸显了自奴隶制时代以来黑人妇女代代相传的生存技能和叙事,以及系统性种族主义和 TBF 如何使这些叙事继续发挥作用。
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来源期刊
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
7.70%
发文量
34
期刊介绍: Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal (COFT) is is a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication that presents the latest developments in research, practice, theory, and training in couple and family therapy. COFT publishes applied and basic research with implications for systemic theory, treatment, and policy. COFT appreciates a multidisciplinary approach, and welcomes manuscripts which address processes and outcomes in systemic treatment across modalities and within broader social contexts. The journal’s content is relevant to systemic therapy practitioners and researchers, as well as marriage and family therapists, family psychologists, clinical social workers, and social policy specialists.
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