Gender and Sexuality in the African American Community

Gender and sexuality are complicated issues in the African American culture. Gender roles and sexual stereotypes have had a detrimental affect towards African American women. Due to the 'mammy' and 'video vixen' stereotypes, the identity of African American women is constructed as non-existent or hyper-sexual. Our presentation focuses on describing the attributes of the mammy and video vixen, along with the implications of both.

The mammy is one of the oldest stereotypes of African American women. Images portray her as a big, red lipped, plump dark skinned woman. She dressed in long formless work dresses and aprons. The mammy is completely desexualized. The Mammy was a source of nutrition, wisdom, comfort and discipline. She is a motherly figure who focuses on child rearing, cooking and cleaning.

The mammy caters to the white families needs. She maintains the home, cares for the young children, and in some cases serves as a midwife. She was created counterbalance the black mistress. Mixed raced children, along with sexual predation were common in the south, and the Mammy helped mask both issues. The Mammy is dehumanized. She is used for comfort and satisfaction only.

One of the most recognizable Mammy figures is Aunt Jemima. She is the quintessential Mammy. Aunt Jemima was created by Davis Mills. She was put on Display at the Columbian Exposition. This exposed the Mammy to a larger audience. Her dress, use of language, and storyline made her a caricature. Aunt Jemima traveled all over reinforcing stereotypes and serving up pancakes.

The video vixen creates a hypersexual image if the black woman. The video vixen stereotypes the black woman as this voluptuous, sex-starved, object. The rappers in the music videos put her along with the cars, houses, jewelry and other material possessions.

Women casted in these music videos are subject to various forms of objectification from the beginning. They are selected for their sexual ambiguity and Eurocentric features. The vixen is portrayed as in many negative lights. Rap music videos show frequent images of black women in scantily clad attire, with materialistic objectives.

In the music videos, black women are materialistic. They dig for the men with the cars, jewelry, and houses. They don't demand respect. They aren't treated like human beings. Black women are silent in the 4 minute features.

These stereotypes are negative because they provide a one dimensional view of the black women. She is completely stripped of her humanity. Rap music videos are primarily consumed by a white audience, which reinforces the believability of the stereotypes. Both stereotypes dehumanize the black women. She is nothing more than an object created to serve.

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