Adaptive Parental Messaging, Racialized Gender Socialization, and Preparation for Black Womanhood

ABSTRACT Research shows that families engage in gender and race specific parenting, guided by societal expectations around gender roles and the persistent racialized hierarchy. What is missing is an analysis of how racialized gender socialization impacts the preparation of Black girls for womanhood. Here we utilized in depth interviewing to uncover messages Black millennial women (N = 9) received about Black womanhood. Our results showed three key themes, Black parents ignored topics of race when sharing messages of socialization and preparation for adulthood for Black girls; Black parents focused largely on educational and vocational achievement to invalidate racist stereotypes placed on Black girls; and Black parents focused on providing guidance to protect Black girls from potential harmful relationships. These findings highlight key ascribed attributes to womanhood for Black women, which can guide mental health practice and illuminates the need for future research on racialized gender socialization that accounts for generation, race, and gender.