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Washington University in St. Louis

Carefree Black Girl: Trope or Treasure?

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<blockquote> Abstract: The writing below is an experimental study on the idea of the “Carefree Black Girl,” a term coined in 2017 to define a way of life for Black women to emulate, focused on self-care and self-love. I write about its popularity and meaning, with parallels to my own life and mental health in order to define if this term is actually an attainable state of being or is more of an aspiration. I also paralleled the marriage of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, conducted an independent poll with a small circle of Black, female contacts to learn about their knowledge of and relation to the term, and interviewed New York Times writer Gina Chereleus, who has profiled several notable Black women and is also a Black woman herself, in order to understand more about this term’s confluence. Trigger warning: the writing contains vivid details of suicidal ideation and attempts. </blockquote>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Graduate School of Art
Year dc:date.available
2023

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Williams, Erin

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:mfa_illustration-1027

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Washington University in St. Louis
Base URL
openscholarship.wustl.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Williams, Erin. Carefree Black Girl: Trope or Treasure?. Thesis thesis, 2023. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/25