Disparaging social stereotypes against the Black African woman’s body: A post-feminist perspective

Abstract

This article sought to debunk the social stereotypes against the black African woman’s body in the centre of the rapport between the colonial past and the contemporary Africa. It has premised its feminist discourse on the historical system of racism, femicide, sexism and exploitation of black women such as the renowned case of Saartjie Baartman in Africa. This qualitative study is undergirded by post-feminism theoretical framework, coupled with the theory of attraction to examine the detrimental stereotypes assigned to the body of the black African woman. It is purely theoretical and has collected data from research papers, journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and documentaries. Furthermore, the study has found that, amongst other reasons, it is the Eurocentric ideals of beauty and oppression in terms of ‘whiteness’ and ‘thinness’ that perpetuate the stereotypes against the body of an African woman as ‘fat’, ‘ugly’ and ‘sex object’. As a result, these stereotypes threaten the identity, self-worth, esteem and pride of the black African woman.

Keywords: African woman’s body, Conscientisation, Femicide, Identity, Postfeminism, Racism. Sexism