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Develop a 250 word original post by Friday and respond to another student by Sunday. Your original post should include an overview of what you read in Sister Citizen (Chapter 1&2), an analysis of the two major themes from the reading a conclusion that asks critical thinking questions (open ended questions about the subject matter). These questions will be the prompt to other students to respond to you. Watch the video below to add context to the reading.
14 Comments
Andre Mouton
2/27/2015 08:00:25 am
Standing straight in a crooked room for a black woman seem to be a struggle especially when they have to first know what is crooked and use their examples of others who have conformed to images and personalities given by society. In order for some to stand straight in a crooked room their understanding of what is straight is liberating, negative stereotype s about black women negatively affect the perceptions that other people have about them also this consciousness of awareness and reality affects how the black women view themselves which has to lay heavy on their self-esteem but can build strength on helping black women stand straight in the crooked room.
Gabriela Hernandez
2/27/2015 12:40:42 pm
Reading chapter one Crooked Room from Sister citizen it focuses on stereo types that are usually given to African American woman. Some examples the book gave would be welfare queens , haters gold diggers, over demanding and argumentative emerged as the main intraracial characterizations of black woman.The book talks about how black man say that black woman are to manipulative and to bossy and too demanding when in reality they are considered the backbone of the family. After having so many negative stereotypes they gave a perfect example of a woman that was the complete opposite and what I liked about that was that, that comes show that people get so carried away with stereotypes and it' s nothing but that an in reality there are more African American woman that are the complete opposite the example the book gave was that, that woman has never been on welfare and in fact she worked two jobs. "These narrative reveal the ways that black women attempt to stand upright in a room made crooked by the stereotypes about black woman as a group.Humans Do not simply have a true self that is either recognized or not. Individuals become who they are as a result of being seen. Recognition is a thing of which one has more or less , rather it is a social interaction that can go well or poorly in various ways." Now for my question do you agree with Darlene clark Hine do you think black woman created a culture of dissemblance to protect the inner selves from this oppressive sexual myth and their resulting vulnerability?
marie brown
2/27/2015 12:49:52 pm
I love the comparison that reinforce the book, “Trying to Stand up Straight in a Crooked Room”. Ms. Perry does an outstanding job of explaining the challenge that is often not recognize by all. She present past mixed with present day conditions that make hers breakdown clear and knowledgeable. The debate of the myths, labels, and the effects of them on black women is teaching. The strong black woman ideal is an attempt to straighten these crooked images. But even though the strong, black woman is a more concrete image than, Jezebel, Mammy, or Sapphire, she is still unsatisfactory to allow black women to enjoy the benefits of recognition and therefore to decide an experience of full citizenship. Black American women occupy a unique place in the Black Community and in society altogether. They are among the most vulnerable citizens both in terms of resources and negative stereotyping. Sometime the word they used most often to describe themselves is strong, and they are pillars of their families, churches. Sister Citizen, takes a look at the stereotypes that have affected black women throughout time: the oversexed and oversexualize Jezebel, the asexual, loyal a nurturing Mammy; and the matriarchal Sapphire; the Angry Black Woman. Ms. Perry explains that when confronted with one of these stereotypes or a crooked room, some Black women will fight it and be determine to fine the true upright position, while other Black women will bend and distort themselves in order to feel like they better fit the crookedness of the room itself. When Ms. Perry close she wrapped it up with a look at Michelle Obama and Shirley Sherrod. Do you understand what it means to be in the Crooked Room?
Marcos Guzman
2/27/2015 01:34:58 pm
Andre Mouton
3/1/2015 02:53:23 pm
I think the role of the black woman as mammy has lessen in films, its just the reality of the black woman's role in the 1800's and early 1900's remain. It would be remiss to show a movie or play and not present the image or the role that did exist. The black woman has gained her respect and they have been acknowledged for their accomplishments by many.
Jessica Jaime
2/27/2015 02:37:49 pm
After reading chapter one Crooked Room from Sister citizen and listening to the comparison of the video Shame Stereotypes and Black Women in America I know see how hard for women to break free of all these negative judgmental stereotypes that are thrown upon them. Being in a body that is recognized and generalized with shame and stress hurts ones self worth and questions your own value as a person and a citizen. A assumption that women have to behave a certain way to prove your citizenship and being constantly in a crooked room with images such as being oversexed Jezebel, Mammy and the angry black one. Why are these the only roles that are taught to our future generations and how come this crooked image is overlooked? The strong black women is misunderstood and not respected in the light it should be.
Gabriela Hernandez
3/1/2015 04:30:09 am
Jessica,
amal pujol
2/27/2015 03:49:26 pm
In reading chapter one and two we see several themes. Two of these are the crooked room and stereotypes of black women. These two go hand in hand, the crooked room often perpetuates the stereotypes. By crooked room Perry is speaking about the society that black women have to live in. She speaks about three stereotypes that have been used to represent black women in the U.S. and they are: Jezebel, Mammy, and Sapphire. The crooked room was originated from cognitive psychology in which studies where done to see if the patient could figure out the upright and the same are true of black women in today’s society. I think it is interesting when we consider that there are some women that can break out of these stereotypes and are able to see thru the crooked room but there are some that are not. Those are the ones that Perry describes as titling to adjust to the room. This is apparent when we see music videos on BET with the video vixens that are hyper sexualized and seem to have embraced the jezebel image. Another point that Perry brings out is that movies such as the help add to the titling to adjust to this crooked room. In chapter Perry discusses how the myth of promiscuity and sexually immoral are often depicted as qualities of black women. She discusses how Mike Tyson was hailed as a hero after he returned from serving prison time for a rape conviction of a black woman named Desiree Washington. She was seen as untruthful because when willingly accompanied him to his hotel room. She points out how all these vulnerabilities have caused black women to hide their authentic selves. What are some ways that the tilting from the crooked room may be visible in black women in today’s society? What are some ways we can combat these stereotypes that have been associated with black women in the U.S.?
Jordan S. Leopold
3/1/2015 04:56:09 am
Well my some what radical take on combating the negative portrayal of Black women is to simply put Black women in those positions of power within the world of media. I haven't seen her TV show because I don't watch TV, but it looks like Melissa Perry is a good example of that as she released this book and is a voice on and in MSNBC and ESSENCE magazine. Her placement and others alike are expanding the presence and influence of Black women in media, gradually negating the negative portrayal seen everywhere.
marie brown
3/1/2015 02:33:35 pm
Sometime other say the thing that fit best in a reply. Here is one of them. If I were really asked to define myself, I wouldn't start with race; I wouldn't start with blackness; I wouldn't start with gender; I wouldn't start with feminism. I would start with striping down to what fundamentally informs my life, which is that I'm s seeker on the path. I think if feminism, and I think of anti-racist struggles as part of it. But where I stand spiritually is , steadfastly, on a path about love. Love is an action, never simply a feeling.
Jessica Jaime
3/4/2015 10:00:28 am
Amal, I agree with you 100% that the crooked room and the stereotypes of black women go hand and hand and its so hard to see thru a crooked room but more than all can not. A mind is a powerful thing and if people really knew how strong and capable they were positive changes would be happening but society brings negative stereotypes and reinforces them with oppressed roles for African Americans to make sure things don't change
Jordan S. Leopold
3/1/2015 04:43:41 am
In the first chapter of Sister Citizen, Perry introduces the concept of the “crooked room,” the first theme, which derived from a 20th century cognitive psychological study on field dependence which looks at people’s effort to place themselves in a upright position within a physically crooked room. Three findings were found: (1) individuals perceived a crooked room straight and continue to align themselves with the “upright” of the room, (2) they would perceive the room to be crooked and would find their actual upright, or (3) perceived the room to be crooked and would over or under align themselves in their attempt to find the actual upright of the room. This psychological concept can be seen in society through the stereotypes that exist in the world, acknowledging that people attempt to either align themselves with the crookedness of stereotypes portrayed or transcend them by aligning with who they actually are after acknowledging this false representation. The second theme, Perry applied this understanding towards Black women in America, with much help from her self conducted focus groups in which she discovered three common stereotypical characteristics that are often associated with Black women: the asexual and loyalty “Mammy", the sexual promiscuity of a “Jezebel", and the emasculating brashness of a "Angry Black Woman." In Chapter two Perry looks further into these stereotypes. I’m personally pleased with how Perry used the psychological lens of a study on field dependence to analyze and break down the three most common stereotypes faced by Black women. Lately, I have been dwelling on the idea how people in general attempt to align themselves with stereotypes that they witness within media and beyond, trying to determine whether they are conscious of this act or not. As most of this is embedded within our subconscious, what do you think it takes for one to consciously “realign” themselves and attempt to find their upright in this world?
Melissa Strah
3/8/2015 02:36:24 pm
Jordan I always enjoy your comments. I feel that you have a great understanding in your writing. Will our society ever see this issues upright the correct way, or will we just keep thinking that we are?
Melissa Strah
3/8/2015 02:33:22 pm
Sister Citizen, explains the "crooked room" through out the first chapter and her lecture. How society perceives the crooked room as normal when it really is not. We adjust to it in society as we do to many different social, economic, and political events in our lives. Many black women have shame within them because they are often made to feel that way. Shame is felt all around, from the community, government and people around them. How can they ever become a true citizen when they feel this shame all the time. They are always seen as financially unstable, uneducated and welfare queens. How would a white women feel if she was constantly being told these words? They are constantly being stereotyped as very sexual women that came from their slavery roots. These women had no choice when they were raped by their owners during slavery. The stereotypical comments need to be set free. It is difficult to become a citizen when you are constantly not feeling like one. Leave a Reply. |
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