Abstract
Previous research on popular images of women and of minority groups has looked almost solely at images of minority men and of white women. This article presents survey data on images of black women among 256 white non-Hispanic college undergraduates, using a modified Katz/Braly scale. The article explores the nature, distribution, correlates, and emotional evaluations of these images and the implications of these images for black women's lives. Images of black women differed substantially from those of American women in general. Most commonly, black women were characterized as loud, talkative, aggressive, intelligent, straightforward, and argumentative. In addition, students rated positive traits less positive and negative traits less negative when exhibited by black women than by American women in general, apparently because of their expectations for black women's behavior.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Astin, A. W., Korn, W. S., & Berz, E. R. (1989). American freshman: National norms for fall 1989. Los Angeles: American Council on Education, Cooperative Institutional Research Program, University of California.
Baptiste, D. A. (1986). The image of the black family portrayed by television: A critical comment. Marriage and Family Review, 10, 41–63.
Bayton, J. A., & Muldrow, T. R. (1968). Interacting variables in the perception of racial personality traits. Journal of Experimental Research in Personality, 3, 39–44.
Broverman, I., Vogel, S. R., Broverman, D. M., Clarkson, F. E., & Rosenkrantz, P. S. (1972). Sex role stereotypes: A current appraisal. Journal of Social Issues, 32, 119–133.
Clark, M. L., & Pearson, W. (1982). Racial stereotypes revisited. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 6, 381–393.
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Eagley, A. H., & Kite, M. (1987). Are stereotypes of nationalities applied to both men and women? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 451–62.
Ely, M. P. (1991). The advantures of Amos and Andy. New York: Free Press.
Frazier, E. F. (1947). The Negro family in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gordon, L. (1986). College student stereotypes of blacks and Jews on two campuses: Four studies spanning 50 years. Sociology and Social Research, 70, 200–201.
Gordon, L. (1991). Race relations and attitudes at Arizona State University. In P. G. Altbach & K. Lomotey (eds.)., The Racial Crisis in American Higher Education (pp. 233–248). New York: State University of New York Press.
Greenberg, J., & Rosenfield, D. (1979). Whites' ethnocentrism and their attributions for the behavior of blacks: A motivational bias. Journal of Personality, 47, 643–657.
Gutman, H. (1976). Black family in slavery and freedom. New York: Pantheon.
Hall, J. D. (1979). Revolt against chivalry: Jessie Daniel Ames and the women's campaign against lynching. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hamilton, D. L. (1979). A cognitive-attributional analysis of stereotyping. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 12, 53–84.
Hooks, B. (1981). Ain't I a woman: Black women and feminism. Boston: South End Press.
Katz, D., & Braly, K. (1933). Racial prejudice and racial stereotypes. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 30, 175–193.
King, M. C. (1973). The politics of sexual stereotypes. Black Scholar, 4, 12–23.
Landrine, H. (1985). Race × class stereotypes of women. Sex Roles, 13, 65–75.
Maykovich, M. K. (1972). Stereotypes and racial images—white, black, and yellow. Human Relations, 25, 101–120.
Merton, R. K. (1957). Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press.
Miller, A. G. (1982). Historical and contemporary perspectives on stereotyping. In A. G. Miller (ed.), In the eye of the beholder: Contemporary issues in stereotyping (pp. 1–40). New York: Praeger.
Morton, P. (1991). Disfigured images: The historical assault on Afro-American women. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Moynihan, D. P. (1965). The Negro family: The case for national action. Washington, DC: GPO.
Ogawa, D. M. (1971). Small group communication: Stereotypes of black Americans. Journal of Black Studies, 2, 273–281.
Pettigrew, T. F. (1979). The ultimate attribution error: Extending Allport's cognitive analysis of prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 5, 461–476.
Ruble, D. N., & Ruble, T. L. (1982). Sex stereotypes. In A. G. Miller (ed.), In the eye of the beholder: Contemporary issues in stereotyping (pp. 188–252). New York: Praeger.
Sims-Wood, J. (1988). The black female: Mammy, Jemima, Sapphire, and other images. In J. Smith (ed.), Images of blacks in american culture (pp. 235–256). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Staples, R. (1973). Black women in America: Sex, marriage, and family. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
Stephan, W. G., & Rosenfield, D. (1982). Racial and ethnic stereotypes. In A. G. Miller (ed.), In the eye of the beholder: Contemporary issues in stereotyping (pp. 92–136). New York: Praeger.
Weitz, R. (1992, August). College students' stereotypes of black American, Mexican American, and Jewish American women. Paper presented at the meetings of the American Sociological Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Wilkinson, D. (1987). The doll exhibit: A psycho-cultural analysis of black female role stereotypes. Journal of Popular Culture, 21, 19–29.
Zangrando, R. L. (1980). The NAACP crusade against lynching, 1909–1950. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This paper has benefited from the comments of Verna Keith, Wade Smith, and, most especially, Mary Benin. This research was partially supported by Arizona State University Women's Studies Summer Research Awards Program.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weitz, R., Gordon, L. Images of black women among anglo college students. Sex Roles 28, 19–34 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289745
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289745