The stereotypes present in popular television shows often become barriers that limit Black women in higher education, influencing the ways in which they experience college campuses, including how they are treated by faculty and peers and how they interact with others in these spaces. This study examined the perspectives of Black women regarding how media portrayals of Black women and specific popular characters influence their learning opportunities and sense of belonging as undergraduates in college campuses. Black Feminist Theory was employed to analyze the experiences of the participants, Black women, and Critical Race Theory aided in understanding how these women function within the system of higher education. These theories work in conjunction to address racist, sexist, and classist conditions to which Black women are subjected and their responses in specific contexts. Four major themes emerged, each having a set of subthemes. The four themes are: (1) Black womanhood is multi-layered and multi-faceted, (2) Black women in the media, (3) this is not my space, and (4) creating a sense of belonging.
","abstract_html":"<p>The stereotypes present in popular television shows often become barriers that limit Black women in higher education, influencing the ways in which they experience college campuses, including how they are treated by faculty and peers and how they interact with others in these spaces. This study examined the perspectives of Black women regarding how media portrayals of Black women and specific popular characters influence their learning opportunities and sense of belonging as undergraduates in college campuses. Black Feminist Theory was employed to analyze the experiences of the participants, Black women, and Critical Race Theory aided in understanding how these women function within the system of higher education. These theories work in conjunction to address racist, sexist, and classist conditions to which Black women are subjected and their responses in specific contexts. Four major themes emerged, each having a set of subthemes. The four themes are: (1) Black womanhood is multi-layered and multi-faceted, (2) Black women in the media, (3) this is not my space, and (4) creating a sense of belonging.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Branch, Kandace"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lilia Monzo","Quaylan Allen","Safiya Noble"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:24Z","subjects":["black woman","media","higher education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/48","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lilia Monzo","Quaylan Allen","Safiya Noble"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Branch, Kandace"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["black woman","media","higher education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/48"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The stereotypes present in popular television shows often become barriers that limit Black women in higher education, influencing the ways in which they experience college campuses, including how they are treated by faculty and peers and how they interact with others in these spaces. This study examined the perspectives of Black women regarding how media portrayals of Black women and specific popular characters influence their learning opportunities and sense of belonging as undergraduates in college campuses. Black Feminist Theory was employed to analyze the experiences of the participants, Black women, and Critical Race Theory aided in understanding how these women function within the system of higher education. These theories work in conjunction to address racist, sexist, and classist conditions to which Black women are subjected and their responses in specific contexts. Four major themes emerged, each having a set of subthemes. The four themes are: (1) Black womanhood is multi-layered and multi-faceted, (2) Black women in the media, (3) this is not my space, and (4) creating a sense of belonging.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Branch, K. N. (2021). Fighting an uphill battle: Black undergraduate women navigating higher education while acknowledging and challenging media portrayals of Black women [Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University]. Chapman University Digital Commons. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000315"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fighting An Uphill Battle: Black Undergraduate Women Navigating Higher Education While Acknowledging and Challenging Media Portrayals of Black Women"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lilia Monzo","Quaylan Allen","Safiya Noble"],"dc:creator":["Branch, Kandace"],"dc:description.abstract":["The stereotypes present in popular television shows often become barriers that limit Black women in higher education, influencing the ways in which they experience college campuses, including how they are treated by faculty and peers and how they interact with others in these spaces. This study examined the perspectives of Black women regarding how media portrayals of Black women and specific popular characters influence their learning opportunities and sense of belonging as undergraduates in college campuses. Black Feminist Theory was employed to analyze the experiences of the participants, Black women, and Critical Race Theory aided in understanding how these women function within the system of higher education. These theories work in conjunction to address racist, sexist, and classist conditions to which Black women are subjected and their responses in specific contexts. Four major themes emerged, each having a set of subthemes. The four themes are: (1) Black womanhood is multi-layered and multi-faceted, (2) Black women in the media, (3) this is not my space, and (4) creating a sense of belonging.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/48"],"dc:source":["Branch, K. N. (2021). Fighting an uphill battle: Black undergraduate women navigating higher education while acknowledging and challenging media portrayals of Black women [Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University]. Chapman University Digital Commons. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000315"],"dc:subject":["black woman","media","higher education"],"dc:title":["Fighting An Uphill Battle: Black Undergraduate Women Navigating Higher Education While Acknowledging and Challenging Media Portrayals of Black Women"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:24Z"}