JBP Special Issue Call for Papers: Black Women’s Body Image: Implications for Identity Formation and Well-Being

Abstract

The Journal of Black Psychology is issuing a call for papers on the association between Black women’s body image, identity formation, and psychological well-being. Historically, stereotypes of Black women, such as the caregiver mammy figure, the sexually promiscuous jezebel, and the aggressive sapphire, have had an influence on how others perceive Black women and how Black women present themselves across different contexts (Stephens & Phillips, 2003; West, 1995), such as their family, workplace/school and social media. Research has shown that these controlling images have had a profound impact on Black women’s identity formation (e.g., Cotter et al., 2015), sexual risk taking behaviors (Peterson et al., 2007), and their overall psychological well-being (Watson & Hunter, 2015). Furthermore, there is a need to explore the growing responses to this marginalization, with Black women reclaiming and reframing the negative stereotypes associated with their bodies. This resistance is at the core of current sociopolitical movements, such as #Metoo, #SayHerName, and #Blackwomenatwork (e.g., Gomez & Gobin, 2020; Lindsey, 2018; McMurtry-Chubb, 2015; Weissinger et al., 2017). Thus, the purpose of this special issue is to advance scholarship on Black women’s body image, identity formation, and psychological wellbeing. Black women’s efforts to resist and dismantle these controlling stereotypes and gendered racial injustices are also critical contributions needed to strengthen this area of research. 991976 JBPXXX10.1177/0095798421991976Journal of Black PsychologyDickens and Stephens other2021