Critical Contradictions: How Black Girlhood in Schools Complicates Controlling Images

Black feminist theory often focuses on the experiences of adult Black women, with limited consideration given to Black girlhood; many in the field of Black girlhood studies call for a deeper theorization of Black feminist theory in relation to Black girlhood. I use an intersectional lens of race, gender, and age to argue that our current understanding of controlling images can benefit from more fully theorizing how Black girlhood becomes subject to systemic violence and dehumanization. Using ethnographic methods at a local 6th- to 12th-grade school, I demonstrate how the controlling images of Jezebel, Sapphire, and Matriarch in the making—an iteration of the Matriarch—distinctly impact Black girls. Moreover, I distinguish how age creates slippages in how these controlling images are experienced. These slippages occur mainly when school staff deny Black girls their age-appropriate sexual exploration and development, and instead allow sexual violence, framing them as angry corrupting influences on others in the school. Such girls are seen as in need of carceral control. I contribute to the literature on Black girlhood studies, Black feminist theory, and the expectations of adulthood among young Black girls in schools to showcase how Black girls vacillate between being seen as adults and as children, furthering negative controlling images placed onto them.