No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-09-01Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:26:55Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_rf_me_prud.pdf: 796842 bytes, checksum: 580afc68badbe441350e764a1daf49db (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Neste trabalho discuto uma fantasia. Não a fantasia vinculada ao faz-deconta das histórias narradas às crianças, mas, a fantasia expressa por um desejo aparentemente incorporado por grande parte dos habitantes de um país, no qual as pessoas fazem de conta que não há discriminação quando há, que não há racismo quando há. Neste país o faz de contas é vivido por adultos e crianças. Tento observar mais de perto, como meninas negras se inserem neste mundo de fantasias e, a partir delas e por meio delas constroem sua identidade. O trabalho foi realizado com meninas que, no ano de 2005, estavam cursando a 4ª série do Ensino Fundamental, em escolas públicas da periferia da cidade de São Paulo. Minha hipótese é a de que as meninas negras teriam dificuldade para a aceitação dos traços estéticos de seu corpo que as identificariam como negras (cabelos,tom de pele ou cor) e que isso se relacionaria diretamente a um padrão feminino construído como o mais bonito e o mais aceitável com os quais não se identificariam, por natureza. Usei como instrumentos para minha pesquisa contos de fadas, desenhos e dramatizações por entender que esse seria o caminho mais adequado para chegar às fantasias das meninas. Através dos contos tentei descobrir como negociavam com as personagens das histórias narradas de modo a resolverem suas próprias fantasias em relação à imagem dos príncipes, das princesas e delas mesmas. / In this work, I discuss a fantasy. It is not the fantasy about fairy tales narrated in stories for children, but the fantasy that manifests the apparently incorporated desire of the big part of the country's inhabitants; a country where people pretend that discrimination does not happen, but it does, that there is not racism, but there is. In this country, this situation is experienced by adults and children. I try to closely observe how the black girls participated in this world of fantasies and how they build their identity from them and among them. The work has been realized with girls that were studying at stage four classes, in public fundamental schools of the São Paulo city' peripheral area. My hypothesis is that the black girls would have difficulties to accept their physical characteristics, mainly those characteristics that identify them as African descendent people (hair, skin color or tonality), and that this fact would be related to the social feminine standard that they cannot reach, because of their nature. I used fairy tales, draws and dramas as research's frameworks because I believe that those are the best ways to contact with the girls' fantasies. Through the fairy tales I tried to discover how the girls were negotiating with the stories characters, to solve their own fantasies related to the prince' image, princess' image and themselves.

The Spirit of Friendship: Girlfriends in Contemporary African American Literature examines spiritual subjectivities that inspire girlfriends in three contemporary novels to journey towards actualization. It examines the girlfriend bond as a space where the Divine Spirit can flourish and assist girlfriends as they seek to become actualized. This project raises epistemological questions as it suggests that within the girlfriend dynamic, knowledge that is traditionally subjugated is formed and refined. Finally, girlfriend epistemology is considered in light of Black Girl Magic, a contemporary social and cultural movement among Black women.

Orientador: Gislene Aparecida dos Santos / Banca: Claude Lépine / Banca: Maria de Fátima Salum Moreira / Neste trabalho discuto uma fantasia. Não a fantasia vinculada ao faz-deconta das histórias narradas às crianças, mas, a fantasia expressa por um desejo aparentemente incorporado por grande parte dos habitantes de um país, no qual as pessoas "fazem de conta" que não há discriminação quando há, que não há racismo quando há. Neste país o "faz de contas" é vivido por adultos e crianças. Tento observar mais de perto, como meninas negras se inserem neste mundo de fantasias e, a partir delas e por meio delas constroem sua identidade. O trabalho foi realizado com meninas que, no ano de 2005, estavam cursando a 4ª série do Ensino Fundamental, em escolas públicas da periferia da cidade de São Paulo. Minha hipótese é a de que as meninas negras teriam dificuldade para a aceitação dos traços estéticos de seu corpo que as identificariam como negras (cabelos,tom de pele ou cor) e que isso se relacionaria diretamente a um padrão feminino construído como o mais bonito e o mais aceitável com os quais não se identificariam, por natureza. Usei como instrumentos para minha pesquisa contos de fadas, desenhos e dramatizações por entender que esse seria o caminho mais adequado para chegar às fantasias das meninas. Através dos contos tentei descobrir como negociavam com as personagens das histórias narradas de modo a resolverem suas próprias fantasias em relação à imagem dos príncipes, das princesas e delas mesmas. / In this work, I discuss a fantasy. It is not the fantasy about fairy tales narrated in stories for children, but the fantasy that manifests the apparently incorporated desire of the big part of the country's inhabitants; a country where people pretend that discrimination does not happen, but it does, that there is not racism, but there is. In this country, this situation is experienced by adults and children. I try to closely observe how the black girls participated in this world of fantasies and how they build their identity from them and among them. The work has been realized with girls that were studying at stage four classes, in public fundamental schools of the São Paulo city' peripheral area. My hypothesis is that the black girls would have difficulties to accept their physical characteristics, mainly those characteristics that identify them as African descendent people (hair, skin color or tonality), and that this fact would be related to the social feminine standard that they cannot reach, because of their nature. I used fairy tales, draws and dramas as research's frameworks because I believe that those are the best ways to contact with the girls' fantasies. Through the fairy tales I tried to discover how the girls were negotiating with the stories characters, to solve their own fantasies related to the prince' image, princess' image and themselves. / Mestre

The purpose of this project was to examine whether there is a transitional period between Afro-Caribbean girlhood and woman/adulthood that is distinctly different from girlhood and from woman/adulthood. Herein I examine at what point in the lives of Afro-Caribbean girls, do they feel like they have entered adulthood. I also examine what kinds of media the girls find representative of this current stage of their lives. This dissertation is an extension of my master's thesis, which explored the ways in which Afro-Caribbean girls from the island of Sint Maarten narrate, navigate, and negotiate their girlhood experiences. Speaking as a Black woman from Sint Maarten, I affirm that this project is important due to the lack of sociological scholarship surrounding Black girls in the Dutch West Indies. This project utilized a qualitative approach that involved self-selected research participant media and semi-structured audio and video recorded in-depth interviews with 5 out of the 9 girls who originally participated in the master's project. At the time of the interviews presented in this dissertation, the participants were 19 and 20 years old. I developed a transnational Black girlhood feminist framework which I use to analyze and interpret the interview data. This framework draws from and builds upon Black feminist theorizing, girlhood studies, and transnational feminisms. It demonstrates how traditional sociological theory such as life course theory, and studies on emerging adulthood and development do not account for the lives of Black girls from the Caribbean. The data reveal that there is a transitional period between girlhood and womanhood and adulthood, and how the girls experience this period is particular to their own lived experiences. The findings reveal that the overarching themes of this period are "it's complicated," and that the girls are claiming their agency. The research participant media indicate the overarching theme of this period of the girls' lives is what we are coming to know as a "soft girl era". Other primary themes which emerged from this study include attention to and prioritization of self-care, love, and self-affirmations. These data serve as a starting point and experiential reference to understand transitions of Afro-Caribbean girlhood in the Caribbean broadly, and specifically in the Dutch West Indies. Much is left to be explored regarding the life course and transitions Afro-Caribbean girls experience. This research will continue as a longitudinal study where I will continue to engage with the framework I have developed and re-engage with the girls as they continue along their life transitions. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this project was to examine whether there is a transitional period between Afro-Caribbean girlhood and woman/adulthood that is different from girlhood and different from woman/adulthood. I look at what point in the lives of Afro-Caribbean girls, do they feel like they have entered adulthood. I also look at what kinds of media the girls find to be representative of this current stage of their lives. This dissertation is an extension of my master's project which explored the ways Afro-Caribbean girls from the island of Sint Maarten narrate, navigate, and negotiate their girlhood experiences. Speaking as a Black woman from Sint Maarten, I affirm that this project is important due to the lack of sociological scholarship surrounding Black girls in the Dutch West Indies. This project consists of self-selected research participant media and audio and video recorded interviews with 5 out of the 9 girls who originally participated in the master's project. At the time of the interviews presented in this dissertation, the participants were 19 and 20 years old. I developed a theoretical framework which I use to analyze and interpret the interview data. The data reveal that there is a transitional period between girlhood and womanhood and adulthood, and how the girls experience this period is particular to their own lived experiences. The findings reveal that the overarching themes of this period are "it's complicated," and that the girls are claiming their agency. The research participant media indicate the overarching theme of this period of the girls' lives is what we are coming to know as a "soft girl era". Other primary themes which emerged from this study include attention to and prioritization of self-care, love, and self-affirmations. These data serve as a starting point to understand transitions of Afro-Caribbean girlhood in the Caribbean broadly, and specifically in the Dutch West Indies. Much is left to be explored regarding the life course and transitions Afro-Caribbean girls experience. This research will continue as a longitudinal study where I will continue to engage with the framework I have developed and re-engage with the girls as they continue along their life transitions.

Using a youth-led participatory action inquiry and photovoice methodology, this study investigated the self-perceptions of Black girls in a suburban area of Northern California. The objective of the project was to explore the perspectives and lives of Black girls. It is through gained insight from their lived experiences that we can come to understand their needs and develop approaches to advance their own holistic empowerment. By gathering self-perceptions of Black girls using photovoice, the project aimed to inform youth workers, educators, and youth-serving organizations such as Magic Black Girls Leadership Institute (MBG) on how to meet the needs and cultivate developmental assets among Black girls. Magic Black Girls was conceived to empower young, Black women to create their own space to grow, become personally aware of their own worth, and stand in their own power. The findings of this study indicate a need for positive counterspaces in which Black girls can generate a counter narrative, gain cultural awareness, experience a sense of community, experience joy, and build skills of activist leadership. The developmental tasks of adolescence for Black young people are complicated by the added context of oppression and racial discrimination which makes it essential to recognize and take action to create supportive environment that nurtures the positive development of Black girls. Further, the findings of this study contended that the use of innovative, holistic youth empowerment strategies are essential in the formation of spaces dedicated to encouraging, enlightening and empowering of young Black girls.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 125,485 Black women earned a bachelor’s degree in 2019 in comparison to 70,909 in 1999. As the number of Black women on college campuses have increased, the number of Black women in senior leadership roles have remained stagnant. It is important for higher education institutions to find ways to increase the number of Black women in senior leadership roles because diverse staff and faculty not only increases students’ success but the institutions’ success. One of the ways in which colleges and universities can support the career advancement of Black women is to support mentorship for Black women. The purpose of this basic qualitative study guided by Black feminist thought was to examine effective methods of mentoring that facilitate the career advancement of Black women who aspire to senior leadership roles in colleges and universities. Through semi-structured interviews, five Black women senior leaders who work in public or private colleges and universities throughout the United States shared their lived experiences with mentorship, effective methods of mentoring, and what resources they felt higher education institutions could provide to help facilitate the career advancement of Black women. The five findings identified in this study were: institutional support, types of mentors, infusion of Black Girl Magic, the mentoring experience and the development of mentoring relationships. These findings provide institutions of higher education with ways to support Black women through mentorship programs designed specifically for Black women and ways to intentionally recruit and hire more Black women. This study will contribute to current scholarship by identifying key mentoring strategies colleges and universities can implement to support aspiring Black women leaders in higher education.

Cashawn Thompson, who is credited for coining the phrase “Black girls are magic” which was later shortened to Black Girl Magic, says in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that “at its core, the purpose of this movement is to create a platform where women of color can stand together against “the stereotyping, colorism, misogynoir and racism that is often their lived experience.” Julee Wilson, Fashion Senior Editor at Essence Magazine, reflects Thompson in her article written for HuffPost saying, “Black Girl Magic is a term used to illustrate the universal awesomeness of black women. It’s about celebrating anything we deem particularly dope, inspiring, or mind-blowing about ourselves.” (Wilson, 2016) Nielsen Media Research similarly defines #BlackGirlMagic as “a cross-platform gathering of empowered Black women who uplift each other and shine a light on the impressive accomplishments of Black women throughout the world, a hashtag which uncovers and addresses the daily racism that so / African American Studies

The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand why some Black women in Greensboro, North Carolina have made the decision to wear their hair naturally, in its original kinky, curly, non-straightened form. I’ve chosen this topic because “in our society, long straight hair has generally been considered the gold standard for attractiveness” (Rosette & Dumas, 2007, p. 410) and by deviating from that gold standard, Black women are affected, personally and politically. In my perspective, it is important to understand why a woman would opt to make this choice, knowing the potential backlash she faces (i.e. losing her job, rejection in a romantic relationship, or school suspension). To facilitate this purpose, the guiding research inquiries included 10 questions about the woman’s hair journey, at different stages of her life: before perming, while perming, and going natural. In speaking with 10 women from three different generations, I found that the process of going natural is at once complex and simple, is simultaneously gradual and instant, both terrifying and liberating. Ultimately, I learned that even though various factors play a part in this process, “going natural” is a decision mostly directed and determined by the woman standing in the mirror. / MS