The Angry Black Woman Stereotype has been a longstanding prejudice against African American women in American society. The Angry Black Woman stereotype is a bias against black women who show any emotion relating to being upset, irritated, or angry. Although on the surface this stereotype can seem relatively harmless, when looking deeper at the root of the stereotype and the lasting effects it can have on the emotional vulnerability of African American women it can be quite damaging.
Anger is a natural part of life. Every person gets angry at some point in their life. Someone getting enraged does not seem like it would be a big deal There are many situations in a person life that would make them upset. Some African Americans have other things they must consider before getting angry including:
- How will I be perceived by the others around me?
- Will I be thought of as belligerent and uncontrollable?
- Will I be seen as a threat?
These questions are not the only things that some African American women wrestle with before getting angry. Another thing that must be considered is the emotional tolls that the person must take on as a result of bottling up their emotions. Continuously refusing to express emotions can lead to deeper emotional issues that are difficult to recover from. The emotional baggage that comes with perpetuating this stereotype is not the only disadvantage involved. A person is often looking for a resolution of the situation that they are angry about. If a person does not express their anger, they are placed at a disadvantage and may not have an opportunity to resolve the problems that are causing the anger.
Society determining who is allowed to release anger is just simply not fair. Certain people are allowed to express feelings of anger and irritation without fear of how it will reflect on them and perpetuate a stereotype. They are able to publicly display rage (justifiable or not) and are not met with contempt. It is ridiculous that whether a person can express anger or not is determined by their bodies and the social constructs that control them.
Unruly Bodies 
Yes!!!!! I definitely appreciate this article. I immediately thought of my workplace, (I work within the restaurant industry), and how I’m always having to suppress my emotions because of the diverse people I work with. I had to learn to be mindful of my deliveries, regardless of how I feels. I feel that overtime it’s definitely made more fed up and honestly, just tired. I’m very happy to know that others are aware and trying to help educate others. Thank you for this article!
As a black woman this post spoke to me but kind of in a different way. I thought about when black women are more on the sensitive side or maybe show a lot of emotions in terms of sadness or hurt. I struggle with many different mental ailments and I am quite sensitive. I feel like when we show softer emotions we are told we need to toughen up or its ignored. Especially in my household. My parents actually get angry at us when we cry. I have had to do a lot of work with my mom to get her to stop this whole toughen up bs. My dad is a lost cause. So I just feel like any emotion a black woman shows is constantly under scrutinity. We can’t win if we are angry and we can’t win if we are sad. So what do we do? I just choose to live.
Really good points here about how *any* emotion is overdetermined for Black women. Thank you for this comment!