PROBLEMS COME WITH THE PACKAGE: EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF RACE, CLASS, GENDER, AND MEDIA ON THE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT GIRLS By COURTNEY JOY WILLIAMS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY College of Education DECEMBER 2009 © Copyright by COURTNEY JOY WILLIAMS, 2009 All Rights Reserved © Copyright by COURTNEY JOY WILLIAMS, 2009 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of COURTNEY JOY WILLIAMS find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Leslie Hall, Ph.D., Chair ___________________________________ Pamela Bettis, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Alex Tan, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Paula Groves-Price, Ph.D. ii PROBLEMS COME WITH THE PACKAGE: EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF RACE, CLASS, GENDER, AND MEDIA ON THE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT GIRLS Abstract by Courtney J. Williams, Ph.D. Washington State University December 2009 Chair: Leslie Hall Historically, African American adolescent girls have been neglected in social science research. The studies of girls over the last decade generally lump African American girls with all girls or with all girls of color. Rarely has the African American girl population been studied as a group with specific cultural nuances that do not pertain to Hispanic or Asian American groups (Orenstein, 1995; Piper, 1994; Ross Leadbetter & Way, 1996; Ward & Benjamin, 2004; Weis & Fine, 2000). The literature that examines African American girls as an individual population (Paul, 2003; Shorter-Gooden & Washington, 1996; Stevens, 2005) do not address issues of race, class, gender, and media together as relevant aspects of the Black girl‟s identity. Using critical race theory as the theoretical framework, this study evaluated the impact of race, class, gender, and media on the way African American adolescent girls construct their identity and make sense of the world. In addition, this study used critical race theory to evaluate how the portrayal of African American women and girls in television and film influence African American adolescent girls‟ identity development. The results indicate that race, class, and media are the most salient factors affecting African American adolescent girls‟ identities. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT Page LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 Black adolescent girls: Iissues of race, class and representation .........................................5 Role of Popular Media ........................................................................................................8 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................10 Purpose Statement .............................................................................................................12 Implications and Importance .............................................................................................13 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................14 Critical Race Theory .........................................................................................................14 Contemporary Construction of Female Adolescence ........................................................19 The Role of Media in Understanding Black Femaleness...................................................29 Black Feminist Theory .......................................................................................................35 Summary ............................................................................................................................39 3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................40 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................40 Inductive Discovery through Critical Research .................................................................42 Research Questions ............................................................................................................45 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................46 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................53 iv Validity Concerns and Limitations ....................................................................................54 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................................58 Segue to the analysis ..........................................................................................................60 Themes ...............................................................................................................................66 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .....................................................................119 Revisiting the research questions .....................................................................................121 Connections to Critical Race Theory ...............................................................................125 Connections to Black Feminism ......................................................................................129 Implications for future research .......................................................................................129 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................132 MEDIA REFERENCES ..................................................................................................145 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW GUIDE .................................................................................................147 B. PARTICIPANT RESPONSE CODE ..........................................................................150 v LIST OF TABLES 1. Participant Reference Chart .......................................................................................... 60 vi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION During the 1940s, researcher Kenneth Clark conducted a revolutionary study that examined the effects of segregation on African American children. Using four plastic, diaper- clad dolls that were identical in every way except color, Clark interviewed African American children between the ages of 3 and 7 to determine their level of racial perception and preference (Library of Congress, 2004). Almost every child identified the race of the dolls, which were Black and White. However, when asked which doll they preferred, the majority of children chose the White doll. The children were also presented with outline drawings of boys and girls and asked to color the outline the same color as themselves. Many of the African American children colored their outline white or yellow. The researchers concluded that prejudice, discrimination, and segregation caused African American children to develop a sense of inferiority and self-hatred (Library of Congress). Clark‟s work was so pivotal that the results of his study were cited in the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended school segregation (Library of Congress). It has been over 50 years since school desegregation and Kenneth Clark‟s doll study, but the impact of racism and racism itself have not diminished. In 2005, a 17 year-old student from New York revisited Clark‟s doll research. Kiri Davis‟ award winning short film, A Girl Like Me (Davis, 2005), not only duplicates Clark‟s doll study, but also provides a real account of beauty and identity ideology from African American adolescent and teen girls. Of the 21 African American children who participated in the project, 15 preferred the White doll over the Black doll. In the film, one girl was asked to choose the doll that looked most like her – the reluctance of acknowledging her identity was evident in her hesitancy to put down the White doll and push forward the Black doll. The girls who were interviewed spoke about the pressure to conform to 1 White standards of beauty, such as having straight hair. Girls interviewed in the film also spoke of African American females attempting to bleach their skin. Despite school desegregation, the recent election of the nation‟s first African American president, and subsequently a First Lady of color, African American girls‟ identity development is still damaged. The effects of racism and prejudice continue to affect the way African American girls see themselves as compared to White girls, which has implications for African American adolescent girls‟ social development. The child participants in Clark‟s study struggled with affirming their acceptance of their race. Kiri Davis‟ recreation of the study indicates that African American adolescents today have the same struggle. It seems as though African American youth still identify the aspects of Caucasian culture as being more desirable than their own. Racism has played and continues to play an integral role in the lives and development of African Americans.