This is a qualitative study that seeks to understand the intersections of food insecurity and chronic diseases in the lives of women living in Mattapan. This research takes place in Mattapan, a neighborhood in Boston. Mattapan is a very diverse and unique community which is home to a majority of people of color. Mattapan is often criticized and viewed as an undesirable place to live for those who live outside of its borders. These negative stereotypes and the presence of structural violence has generated a built site scarcity within the Mattapan community. This makes it incredibly difficult for Black women in Mattapan to be healthy because their environment actively prevents them from doing so. It is important to give women special consideration when looking at food insecurity because more increasingly they are becoming the sole and primary caregivers in their homes. They are responsible for the production and preparation of food within their families. Therefore, it is necessary and important to focus on this particular population and obstacles they endure navigating those obstacles. This research focuses on how past and present lived experiences of women of color in Mattapan inform how these women identify, understand, define, and interpret structural factors that contribute to food insecurity, and chronic diseases. Having access to fresh and affordable food is one of the most basic necessities of life. Yet, many communities of color across the country lack this basic access. Twenty percent of all African American household’s experience food insecurity compared 12.5 percent of the nation as a whole. In addition, African-American women are almost twice as likely to be overweight and obese compared to non-Hispanic White women. With such grave proportions of African-Americans suffering from chronic diseases, it is important to consider the ways in which obesity systematically occurs. Structural violence and the presence of structural barriers inhibit Black women from eating healthy. In predominately Black and immigrant communities like Mattapan, the environment is a major barrier that women must navigate every day in order to achieve healthiness.

This study explores the true crime documentary Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story and aims to investigate the protagonist Cyntoia Brown in relation to how her character and story is represented. Due to the consistent rise of awareness in equal rights, as well as the steady increase of black representation in popular television, one might think that it would reflect positively in mass media. Although there have been few changes to representation, the findings that are to be presented suggest otherwise. Narratives within television still heavily relies on stereotyping and following societal norms, which this study desires to expose through a discourse analysis.

Sexual victimization is a pervasive mental and physical health issue with overarching implications for university campuses and victim service providers alike. While a large expanse of research exists on sexual violence and the factors associated with victimization, less is known about the potentially unique experiences faced by Black college women in particular. Utilizing data collected by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines the prevalence of college sexual victimization, levels of social support for victims and non-victims, intimate partner sexual victimization (IPSV), and the predictability of self-esteem on sexual victimization. In addition, comparisons are made between Black college women and their White counterparts. After conducting multiple t-tests and logistic regression analyses, results indicated that Black college women were more likely to experience IPSV than White college women, and Black college women received less social support following sexual victimization than Black non-victims. These findings can help in establishing more efficient and accessible assistance for victims.

Colonialism and apartheid have resulted in African law occupying an inferior position in the South African legal system compared to Roman-Dutch law and English common law, which are both recognised as forming the South African common law. This state of affairs has resulted in the lack of development of African law as an independent source of legal knowledge The effect of this dilemma was that African customs were legislated according to Western principles of legal positivism and legal formalism. This legislative approach resulted in the formulation of African principles in ways that exacerbated patriarchy and, in turn, affected the legal status of in particular Black women. This thesis focuses on the effect of colonisation and apartheid on African law and the position of Black women. The marginalisation of African law is argued in this study to have ultimately led to Black women’s silencing and subordination, which is evident from the case law discussed in this study. Furthermore, since white men historically dominated legal training, women have not always been well represented in the teaching and practising of law. Due to issues of racism, Black women have been further marginalised in academia and the legal profession. As a result, Black women still face challenges in academia concerning their academic success. Their upward mobility is severely hampered, which is problematic since the voices of Black women in law could prove beneficial in both academia and the legal profession in changing the current jurisprudence on African law and how it impacts Black women. The thesis seeks to provide recommendations to promote African law and Black women in the study and practice of law in South Africa. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Private Law / LLD / Unrestricted

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / An indigenous cultural practice among the many ethnic groups of South Africa, lobola has changed immensely, especially in highly urbanised towns. It has also been the subject of several interpretations in academia, the media, and popular opinion. These have included ethnographic scholarship that focuses on its cultural significance and its centrality to reciprocal relationships between groups. Other academic and activist views criticize how lobola, as a form of bride wealth, instrumentalises women in patriarchal society. In addition, other interpretive strand acknowledges lobola's patriarchal impacts while also recognizing the agencies and choices of women who embrace it. The work demonstrates that women are neither consistent agents nor constant victims of lobola, but that they experience it in different ways. As a result, the study explores how young women‘s situated knowledge helps us understand lobola‘s complex and ambiguous meanings that might assist in comprehending the current connotations of lobola, which are presently complicated and confusing. The current study is concerned with mapping out and analysing the complexities of standpoint knowledge-making that is typically side-lined in the numerous scholarly and activist studies of lobola by selecting a diverse range of young women respondents as well as commentators in the public sphere.

African American (AA) women have the highest rates of obesity and weight-related diseases of any other cultural group in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between acceptance of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) cultural construct and the following weight-related health factors: body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes mellitus (DM). The hypothesis was that a positive relationship exists between accepting the SBW persona and weight-related health factors. The theory of womanism was used to guide this study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 127 AA women to participant in an online survey. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the demographics. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the research questions. The affect and regulation subscale from the Strong Black Woman Cultural Construct Scale was used to measure mental and emotional strength. Willingness to ask for help was measured using the General Help Seeking questionnaire original version. The Emotional Eating Scale measured eating behaviors in response to anger, frustration, depression, and depressed mood. The Perceived Stress Scale measured perceived stress. The results of the analyses revealed that mental and emotional strength were significantly related to BMI and high blood pressure. There was no significant relationship found between mental and emotional strength and heart disease, stroke, and DM. This study could provide useful information for future weight management treatment for AA women. Positive social change is implied because understanding weight gain in this population may help to decrease the incidences of obesity and associated weight-related illnesses.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) researchers and organizations recognize that a large gender and racial disparity exists in these fields. However, individuals with intersectional identities (i.e., Black women) have unique experiences of bias that preclude them from entering STEM careers and feeling a sense of belonging. As such, featuring an employee that demonstrates allyship for Black women on an organization’s website can be a useful identity-safe cue to signal that a Black woman’s identity will be valued and promote the recruitment of Black women in STEM organizations. Yet, research indicates that Black women who are high in stigma consciousness (i.e., sensitive to potential discrimination based on their identity) do not trust or believe a White woman ally presented in a written profile cares about helping Black women. The current study found that presenting an ally in a video profile mitigated these negative effects of stigma consciousness, and increased Black women’s anticipated belonging and trust in a fictional STEM organization via higher perceptions of allyship. Theoretical implications for research, practical implications for organizations, and future research avenues to explore are discussed

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Research on military families has increased since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; however, the research focuses on military families is general with little specific information on Black families within the military. Given the known general impact of race, this is a critical gap in the research into military families. This qualitative descriptive study explores the life of Black daughters in military families by examining the challenges and benefits of growing up as a Black daughter in a military family. There were three primary research questions asked of the participants about their experiences: 1) What challenges did you experience growing up in a military family; 2) What benefits did you experience growing up in a military family; and, 3) Do you believe that being Black affected the challenges and benefits you experienced? If so, in what way(s)? The participants also answered two additional questions of importance to social workers and health practitioners who work with military families: 1) What advice would you give to social workers who work with military families?; and, 2) What advice would you have for the military to help families address the challenges you have mentioned? The answers to the primary research questions are reviewed through the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI), models of systems theory, mettle, adaptability, and transformability. Consideration of the “Strong Black Woman” perspective is also examined. A look at the roles that women play as well as roles imposed on women by others is explored. Implications for social workers, health practitioners, and schools of social work are discussed, inclusive of military family culture and the importance of cultural competence in considering the intersections of a person’s life: racial identity in addition to military implications. / 2021-10-02

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