ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes an Africana womanism methodology to investigate Black women's understanding of womanhood and to explore the ways in which Black women choose to self-identify. Africana females were asked to provide images to describe who they are and how they want to be seen. The content analysis of 50 photos and descriptions of how Africana females would like to be seen revealed three main findings. First, Africana females would like to be seen as multifaceted. Second, the strong emphasis on motherhood, family, and community aligns with the Africana womanism philosophy. Third, Africana females self-selected images did not correlate with media-generated portrayals of Africana womanhood; instead some participants noted that the images they selected were counter-stereotypical. Key themes that emerged from analysis of participants (N=13) photo descriptions are: Self Pride and Joy, Family and Love, Community Responsibility, Education and Talent, Religion, Friendship and Fun, Beauty, and Admiration and Independence.
