ABSTRACT
The “strong Black woman” ideal is a controlling image in U.S. society that places pressure on Black American women to maintain a facade of self-sufficiency, independence, and stoicism at all times and across their lifespan. Strength has historically been an insidious determinant of Black women’s degenerative well-being. However, it may also serve as a powerful agent for their survival in an oppressive world. The strong Black woman collective theory (SBWC) is one of the first frameworks to consider strength as an adaptive resource that helps Black women navigate discriminatory spaces, thereby shifting scholarly discussions about strength from good/bad to functional. Shardé M. Davis offers an overview of the theory. She discusses how Black women re-appropriate the dominant“strong Black woman” cultural image and employ certain communication behaviors to affirm“strength” in each other. By exhibiting these behaviors, Black women delineate a safe space to promote solidarity and pride within the group and confront oppressive forces from outside the group as a collective. While reinforcing such behaviors as a collective enables resistance against external hostilities and validates Black womanhood, it may also impede sharing vulnerability and emotionality. Implications and future directions for the SBWC theory are discussed at the end.
