American Black Woman

There are many things about me that make me unique to my fellow counterparts, my sense of humor, my style of dress, and how I handle certain situations, however, the thing that makes me the most unique is being a black woman in America. Black women are as far down the list as you can get because of the labels that are placed upon us, like the angry black woman or loud and ghetto, these are things that could be true for some but not all. It’s not just how we act either it’s also how we represent ourselves whether it be the way we wear our hair to the type of clothing that we choose to dress in, we are looked at as less than because of it. Now here is where we really get down to it because we are looked at with so much animosity by not only other races and ethnicities but by our own as well with having to compete for jobs and resources. Being a woman is hard right now but being a black woman is even harder because we are looked at to be these strong independent women who can do it all and that may be true sometimes but not all the time and not always for the right reasons.

The way that I carry myself is indicative of how I was raised, I was always told to hold my head up high and be polite to those around me, basically treat others how you would like to be treated and I took that with me everywhere I went. A black woman’s attitude is always coming into question because we are seen as these loud ghetto angry baby mamas and that is not a narrative that I can fully get behind because it is not how we all act and for you to lump us all in all in is a crime. We have been getting this stereotype for years about how are loud and angry, if we seem that way it’s because we have to be for anyone to notice us not to mention we have a lot to be any about. Black women have had to sit back and watch out male counterparts get killed and thrown in jail for no reason with no way to help them but to be loud and angry about the injustice that is going on everywhere. Our attitude may not be how you like it but it is a reflection of our environment and the travesties that we have to not only see but also endure on a daily basis by everyone ourselves included.

I like to pride myself on my appearance sometimes, although it may not be how the majority would look, it is a style unique to me and is something I love to be able to say about myself; I don’t dress for other people’s approval, I dress to feel comfortable. The way a black woman dresses is called into question all the time, within the last 3-5 years going natural has become this big thing, with women choosing not to relax their hair anymore and just wear the curls. This would have been considered unprofessional not that long ago but is now being widely excepted by places of business because of the threat of going viral, in a bad way. Self-expression is looked at as an act against the societal norm, so when a black woman decided to wear her hair in a style that is a little different than is acceptable then she is waging a war on society. How a black woman chooses to show her appearance should not be seen as a negative thing because we are all just trying to love ourselves the way that we were made and to show the uniqueness that we all have.

When I think about myself and where I fit in as far as society is concerned, I know that I don’t fall into a lot of categories; I am a black woman who lives in America with no money and no job, but I do have a degree and a way to make money. The black community has just now started to embrace the black woman because for a long time you had to look a certain way for anyone to take you seriously, and that included your skin tone and hair texture. All you hear now is black queen and protect black women which are great now, our standing in the community is going up now because people can see what we can do and that we have real power and magic. Black women are steadily on the rise in all facets of society, like politics, sports, and entertainment, we are showing that we have what it takes to not only compete with men but that we can dominate when needed.

All the opinions that I state are my own and if you don’t agree with me then that is your right to do so, I am not saying these things to hurt anyone’s feelings, I just want to express how I feel about being a black woman in America and the hardships that we may go through. I have seen so many times how we are overlooked by everyone and underestimated by all and yet we still manage to come out on top for the most part because we know how to persevere. The struggle is for sure real for a lot of people but non more than the black woman who has to overcome the stereotypes that are placed upon us by society because refuses to see us as anything else. I know that how we walk, talk, and act is being watched by so many, but I also know that those same people watching are figuring out new ways to copy what we have going on and claim it for themselves. Thank you for reading this, I know that you didn’t have to take the time to do so but you did and that says a lot about you as a person, that you would sit and read this means a lot to me.