The High Maintenance Black Girl: Black Female College Students’ Experiences with Intraracial Stereotypes
type: CreativeWork
description: While existing literature has extensively documented interracial stereotypes faced by Black individuals, this study delved into the lesser-explored realm of stereotypes emanating from within the Black community itself. This dissertation explored the experiences of Black female college students in predominantly white educational environments, focusing on the pervasive influence of intraracial stereotypes. Grounded in phenomenological inquiry and guided by Black Feminist Critique, the research investigated the impact of these intraracial stereotypes on relationships, sense of belonging, and coping strategies among Black female college students. Four research questions guided this dissertation: What are the intraracial stereotypes experienced by Black female college students? How have these intraracial stereotypes shaped their experiences and relationships with Black faculty, Black peers, family members, and the Black community? How do intraracial stereotypes about Black female college students shape their sense of belonging? Lastly, how do Black female college students manage tensions arising from intraracial stereotypes? In-depth semi-structured focus groups were held with 31 Black female college students in Southern California. This study also found that Black female college students experience stereotypes (or microaggressions) from within their racial group across Black family members, Black peers, Black faculty members, and the broader Black community that paralleled their academic intellect or pursuits to whiteness. In addition, this study revealed that even if participants were met with stereotypes from within the family unit, familial support for education was the most prevalent across all eight focus groups, while academia placed a heightened sense of dissonance on friendships (five focus groups), particularly when the participants’ friends did not attend college. On the college campus, participants expressed equally in six focus groups how they experienced bo…
abstract: While existing literature has extensively documented interracial stereotypes faced by Black individuals, this study delved into the lesser-explored realm of stereotypes emanating from within the Black community itself. This dissertation explored the experiences of Black female college students in predominantly white educational environments, focusing on the pervasive influence of intraracial stereotypes. Grounded in phenomenological inquiry and guided by Black Feminist Critique, the research investigated the impact of these intraracial stereotypes on relationships, sense of belonging, and coping strategies among Black female college students. Four research questions guided this dissertation: What are the intraracial stereotypes experienced by Black female college students? How have these intraracial stereotypes shaped their experiences and relationships with Black faculty, Black peers, family members, and the Black community? How do intraracial stereotypes about Black female college students shape their sense of belonging? Lastly, how do Black female college students manage tensions arising from intraracial stereotypes? In-depth semi-structured focus groups were held with 31 Black female college students in Southern California. This study also found that Black female college students experience stereotypes (or microaggressions) from within their racial group across Black family members, Black peers, Black faculty members, and the broader Black community that paralleled their academic intellect or pursuits to whiteness. In addition, this study revealed that even if participants were met with stereotypes from within the family unit, familial support for education was the most prevalent across all eight focus groups, while academia placed a heightened sense of dissonance on friendships (five focus groups), particularly when the participants’ friends did not attend college. On the college campus, participants expressed equally in six focus groups how they experienced bo…
author: Thrower, Alexis
keywords: Black females, higher education, intraracial, relationships, sense of belonging, stereotypes, African American Studies, Education
date published: 2024-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:01Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University