What is wrong with Black women? Well, if you ask the writer of a controversial 2011 Psychology Today article, they are all much less attractive than their non African-American female counterparts. Recent statistics from the Brookings Institution show college- educated Black women are not very likely to marry and if they do jump the broom, they will be doing so with a mate that is less educated than they are.
The aforementioned points are just two in a countless number of negatives that collectively present a very one-sided view of the Black female experience. But according to local author, Tamara Winfrey Harris, the “sisters” are doing just fine.
The Sisters are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America, Winfrey Harris’ first book, tackles long-standing stereotypes and misconceptions steeped in racism and misogyny surrounding Black women’s sexuality, beauty, health and more. Included are interviews she conducted with hundreds of Black women of different ages and backgrounds.
“This book is a culmination of work I have been doing for the past seven to eight years,” said Winfrey Harris. The author, whose work on race and gender has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Ms. Magazine, on the Huffington Post and more recently in Ebony magazine; said her initial idea was to write a book focused on marriage.
“A lot of what was being said about the ‘Black marriage crisis’ bothered me. It made Black women the scapegoat for all the ills in the Black community; it was all about fixing Black women and making them worthy of being chosen,” she said. In Chapter 3, titled “Marriage, Witches, Thornbacks, and Sapphires,” Winfrey Harris shares an experience she had in her mid-20s. “I was approached by a young man while at a party and he asked me where my boyfriend was,” she said. Upon learning that she was not in a relationship, he said something must be wrong with her. “You must be one of those crazy women,” she recounts. A statement Winfrey Harris believes is one sided. “You wouldn’t say that to a man.”
This one-sided opinion translates also to the popularity of certain media personalities turned relationship experts. “The reality is, you don’t have to think like a man and men don’t have to figure out how to think like women,” said Winfrey Harris, adding that the tone of this advice is both heteronormative and problematic. “A lot of the advice people give is actually the antithesis of what makes a healthy partnership.”
This notion of Black women’s wrongness and need for repair pervades popular culture.
Last week, Serena Williams wowed onlookers as she defeated Garbiñe Muguruza winning her sixth Wimbledon title. Her accomplishment was not met without negativity as her muscular frame was critiqued in the New York Times. Earlier this month, news of R&B singer Ciara and boyfriend Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks’ decision to abstain from sexual intercourse was a hot topic of conversation. The praise Ciara received was a stark contrast to the overwhelmingly negative response she received following her provocative music video for “Ride,” a song off her “Basic Instinct” album. The music video was banned from being played on television network, BET.
“It’s respectability politics,” said Winfrey Harris on Ciara and Wilson. “The reality is that she has the right to do either or, or both. She’s a grown woman and she’s not hurting anyone. She can be explicitly sexual and she has the right to be celibate if she wants to.”
In an attempt to dismantle the demands on Black women to position themselves for societal acceptance and male consumption, many Black women are taking to social media to converse about everyday challenges while sharing messages of empowerment.
Recently, Winfrey Harris hosted a chat on Twitter titled “The Trouble with Black Women.” “We’re talking about the complicated but hopeful reality of Black women’s lives #thesistersarealright,” she tweeted under her handle @whattamisaid. Varying responses poured in, with some users like @bgg2wl saying “it’s simultaneously complicated and rewarding” and @blackwitch remarking “Invisible, because even in “Black Lives Matter” marches, it’s pretty evident which Black lives they’re talking about.”
“It seems sometimes everyone else is more important than we are,” said Winfrey Harris. “In the African-American community, even though we make up almost half of that, Black people’s issues are primarily men’s issues so once we fix that we will get around to being concerned about Black women. That’s sort of trickle down equality and it doesn’t work.”
In December 2014, the three co-founders of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Alicia Garza, 34, Patrisse Cullors, 31, and Opal Tometi, 30, took to their website with a document on the “herstory” of the movement. Garza, who wrote the piece, voiced the group’s disdain for seeing the movement the trio founded be co-opted many times over with no real regard for it’s origins as well as the lives of slain Black women. “We completely expect those who benefit directly and improperly from white supremacy to try and erase our existence. We fight that every day. But when it happens amongst our allies, we are baffled, we are saddened, and we are enraged,” she said.
Winfrey Harris’ Twitter chat, which is currently available for view on Storify.com, also included several sentiments of celebration, joy and excitement surrounding Black womanhood, a feeling akin to the Carefree Black Girl movement.
A Tumblr blog of the same name, showcases images of a diverse group of Black women happily expressing their personal style through art and fashion.
Winfrey Harris, clad in a vintage T-shirt bearing rock star Prince’s iconic mug, blue jeans and Chuck Taylor sneakers said she has always been a carefree Black girl but identifies even more so now than ever.
“It’s hard being a Black woman, you are always getting so many messages about what is wrong with us, your skin is too dark, you’re too loud, you’re too strong – so its hard not to listen to that and believe in your own alright-ness,” she said. “You have to trust in yourself and believe in your own importance.”
Winfrey Harris will appear at the Indiana Black Expo’s Author and Artists Café from 2:30 – 4 p.m. on July 18. The event will be held at the Indiana Convention Center.
For more information on Winfrey-Harris and The Sisters are Alright, visit tamarawinfreyharris.com.
