Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2015 African American mother's socialization of daughter's dress and consumption of appearance- related products LaPorchia C. Davis Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Davis, LaPorchia C., "African American mother's socialization of daughter's dress and consumption of appearance-related products" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 14692. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14692 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. African American mother’s socialization of daughter’s dress and consumption of appearance-related products by LaPorchia C. Davis A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Apparel, Merchandising, and Design Program of Study Committee: Mary Lynn Damhorst, Major Professor Telin Chung Eulanda Sanders Yalem Teshome Zlatan Krizan Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2015 Copyright © LaPorchia C. Davis, 2015. All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my loving mother Gloria Wilburn, who has been my mental and spiritual cheerleader, and to my late grandfather Eddie Lee Johnson and my aunt Brenda Jones, who encouraged me to keep going during my most challenging days. I dedicate this work to you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1 Purpose............................................................................................................................1 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................5 Background .....................................................................................................................7 Protective Mothers .....................................................................................................9 Mother–Daughter Connection .................................................................................. 12 Research Approach ........................................................................................................ 15 Definitions ..................................................................................................................... 17 Dissertation Organization .............................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 20 Theoretical Foundations: African American Culture and Intersectionality ...................... 20 Black Feminism ....................................................................................................... 20 Historical Controlling Images and Stereotypes ......................................................... 24 Double Consciousness ............................................................................................. 31 African American Dress and Appearance ................................................................. 33 Social Constructions of African American Appearance and Body Image.................. 42 Body Image ............................................................................................................. 43 Socialization of African American Identity and Consumption Processes ........................ 47 African American Socialization Process................................................................... 47 Appearance Socialization by Mothers ...................................................................... 49 Theories of Parenting and Socialization ......................................................................... 51 Parenting Styles ....................................................................................................... 51 Social Learning Theory ............................................................................................ 53 Consumer Socialization ........................................................................................... 56 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 3. METHODS ................................................................................................... 59 Participants .................................................................................................................... 59 Sample ..................................................................................................................... 59 Recruitment of Study Participants ............................................................................ 59 Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 60 Interviews and Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 63 Description of Demographic Survey ........................................................................ 63 Pilot Study ..................................................................................................................... 64 Compensation ................................................................................................................ 65 Confidentiality ............................................................................................................... 65 Data Analysis Procedures .............................................................................................. 65 Coding and Developing Themes from Qualitative Data ............................................ 65 Application of Theories ........................................................................................... 67 Trustworthiness and Dependability .......................................................................... 67 iv Use of Quantitative Data from the Demographic Survey .......................................... 68 Researcher’s Background .............................................................................................. 68 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................... 70 Demographic Characteristics of Participants .................................................................. 70 Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data........................................................................... 73 Mother–Daughter Relationships ............................................................................... 77 Mothers’ Overall Influence on Dress........................................................................ 88 Daughter’s Influence on Mother’s Dress .................................................................. 93 Father’s Influence on Consumer Behavior ............................................................... 96 Style Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 97 Being an African American Woman—Mother’s Perspective .................................. 101 Being an African American Woman—Daughter’s Perspective ............................... 105 Femininity ............................................................................................................. 109 Differences Related to Participant Characteristics .................................................. 120 CHAPTER 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .......................................................... 126 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................. 127 Closeness Within Strong Rule Setting .................................................................... 127 Mother’s Overall Influence on Dress...................................................................... 129 Daughter’s Influence on Mother’s Dress ................................................................ 130 Father’s Influence .................................................................................................. 131 Style Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 132 Being an African American Woman—Mother’s Perspective .................................. 135 Being an African American Woman—Daughter’s Perspective ............................... 136 Femininity ............................................................................................................. 138 Body Image ........................................................................................................... 139 Differences Among the Mother-Daughter Pairs...................................................... 142 Education Level