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8 - Strong Black Woman Persona: Mental Health Impacts

from Part III - Core Themes in Black Women’s Stress and Distress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

Donna Baptiste  and
Adia Gooden
Donna Baptiste
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
Adia Gooden
Affiliation:
Unconditionally Worthy, Co.
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Summary

Strong Black Woman Persona: Mental Health Impacts, discusses the everyday experience of Black women’s penchant to be overcommitted and overburdened in caring for the needs of others. This idea, framed as the Strong Black Woman persona, is a racialized gender performance, a scripted role into which Black women are socialized, beginning in childhood. We discuss the historical, societal, and cultural forces that cause women to internalize Strong Black Woman identities. We also recommend strategies to help Black women move beyond a sense of constant self-sacrifice to prioritizing self-care.

Keywords

Strong Black Womanmental healthimpacts
Type
Chapter
Information
Promoting Black Women's Mental Health
What Practitioners Should Know and Do
 , pp. 191 - 213
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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No More Martyrs. (n.d.). https://www.nomoremartyrs.org/Google Scholar

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