Candid Conversations: Black Women Political Elites and Appearances

Sister Style ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 75-94
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Danielle Casarez Lemi
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Action Committee ◽  
Political Office ◽  
The Aesthetic

This chapter showcases how conversations are a generative tool to assess the differences and similarities in the aesthetic experiences of Black women political elites. The authors partnered with the Black Women’s Political Action Committee of Texas to provide the first ever scholarly focus group with Black women political elites. Through an organic conversation, they found that Black women candidates and elected officials face challenges from others, including fellow Black women, about how they choose to present themselves for political office. The authors documented generational splits in how age cohorts of Black women decide to style themselves and the political implications of these choices. Most notably, Millennial Black women political elites detailed discrimination and hostilities based on their styling preferences, often at the hands of older Black women.

Sisterly Discussions about Black Women Candidates

Sister Style ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 95-119
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Danielle Casarez Lemi
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Natural Hair ◽  
Delta Sigma ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Elected Office

In this chapter, through a focus group with members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the authors query a set of highly politically engaged Black women about the importance of appearance to this group of political elites. As a historically Black Greek Letter Organization, this sorority has, throughout its history, upheld restrictive and controlling cultural norms that disproportionately impact Black women. Yet, the authors’ findings demonstrate that while there are different preferences and tactics that Black sorority-member voters think are most useful for other Black women to gain elected office, those voters are uniform in their desire to see successful Black women political elites. The authors also observe a generational split regarding the perceived political implications for Black women candidates with natural hair, which the focus group participants tie back to respectability politics. The chapter concludes by highlighting the differences in how younger Black sorority members think about the politics of appearance and the implications for these differences for the future of Black women political elites.

Conclusion

Sister Style ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 172-182
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Danielle Casarez Lemi
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Black Woman ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Women's Activism ◽  
Natural Hair ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Black Women's Activism

The concluding chapter of this book contextualizes the political implications of Black women’s appearances for both political elites and voters. The chapter centers on Black women’s activism around natural hair and its connection to politics and policy. The natural hair movement signals not just a styling preference but also a way for Black women political elites to descriptively represent constituents. In this chapter, the authors provide a summary of the findings of their study and offer insights into Black women’s representation. The chapter ends by asking readers to assess the values that they ascribe to a Black woman political elite based on what she looks like.

“Glass half full: cautious optimism and the future of Black women political elites in America”

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Sarah Allen Gershon
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Scholarly Research ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
The Future ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Abstract In this essay, we place Black women's electoral challenges and opportunities in context. We situate this year of “Black Women Candidates” as an anomaly, but one that has been a long in the making. We also point to the appeal of Black women lawmakers among voters to mirror Alberder Gillespie's claims in this epigraph. We note that Black women have long been the backbone of the Democratic Party and are willing to use their clout for their own political means. Furthermore, given the unique ways that Black women represent their constituents, an influx of Black women into governing bodies may have a substantial, lasting impact on policy-making. We conclude with insights from our own research and that of other scholars on Black women to demonstrate future avenues of scholarly research.

Is There a Black Woman Candidate Prototype?

Sister Style ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Danielle Casarez Lemi
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Black Woman ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Visual Content ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Woman Candidate

This chapter conducts a visual content analysis of Black women candidates’ headshots to examine whether there is a “phenotypic archetype” of Black women candidates to which Black women are exposed. Findings from an original dataset on the appearances of Black women candidates who sought office in 2018 align with prior research on colorism and representation. The chapter presents data that shows that the pool of Black women candidates skews lighter-skinned with straightened hair, and that candidates who wear braids or locs may disproportionately lose their contests. These findings suggest that Black women who seek local-level offices with natural styles like locs may find it difficult to enter political office and to rise to higher levels of office. The exploratory findings presented in the chapter illustrate a patterned preference for a certain type of Black women candidate, but it is noted that more research should be done on a larger scale to assess this trend.

scholarly journals The aesthetics of political resistance: On silent politics

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 072551362110351
Author(s):  
Katariina Kaura-aho
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Effective Resistance ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Political Resistance ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Aesthetic Meaning ◽  
Political Subversion

This article analyses the aesthetics of silent political resistance by focusing on refugees’ silent political action. The starting point for the analysis is Jacques Rancière’s philosophy and his theorisation of the aesthetics of politics. The article enquires into the aesthetic meaning of silent refugee activism and interprets how refugees’ silent acts of resistance can constitute aesthetically effective resistance to what can be called the ‘speech system’ of statist, representative democracy. The article analyses silence as a political tactic and interprets the emancipatory meaning of silent politics for refugees. It argues that refugees’ silent acts of political resistance can powerfully affect aesthetic, political subversion in prevailing legal-political contexts.

Treating Afro hair loss: signs, symptoms and specialist interest

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 190-197
Author(s):  
Ingrid Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Hair Care ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Symptoms And Signs

This article explores the different types of hair loss that black women may experience more than other groups of patients. Properties of African hair and the impact of hair care practices are discussed, as well as factors affecting the presentation of other hair loss conditions. It is important for the aesthetic practitioner to be able to distinguish between the temporary forms of hair loss that they can help to treat and the permanent or scarring forms of hair loss, which need a prompt referral to a dermatologist with a specialist interest in hair. Prompt recognition and referral can help to delay the progression of hair loss. The symptoms and signs that patients and practitioners should be alerted to are explored, as well as the treatments that can help and where referrals may be necessary. Recent developments and gaps in knowledge are summarised.

The Non-time of Lived Experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-95
Author(s):  
André Lepecki
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Aesthetic

This essay analyzes the approach of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937–80) to what he called “the problem of color.” Oiticica’s conceptual-aesthetic pursuits between 1959–65 offered a renewed onto-political conceptualization of notions of time, particularly of the “liveness” of inert matters and of the “thingness” of participation. His notion of “vivência estética” (the lived experience of the aesthetic) bridged supposed gaps between performance and objecthood while offering a redefinition of what constitutes political action and what constitutes artistic matter.

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