What It Means To Be a Black Woman

“I am a proud black woman” is a phrase that I often heard growing up. Whether it came from aunts or from my older cousins, I never understood the meaning behind these words. In my homeland Haiti, the word “black” has practically no meaning. After all, everyone in my family is black. So why did they take so much pride when saying this phrase? As I got older, I became accustomed to not only these words but the meaning behind them. 

One of the things I love about America is the diversity. The fact that there are so many kinds of people living with each other. Like a blend of different cultures. It gives me this superb, warm feeling. But then I abruptly recall that there is a hierarchy and at the very bottom of the list is not black people, but black women.

I have the uttermost respect for black women. Black women are not only faced with the problems of racism but also sexism. For some odd reason, the world wants to paint us in ugly insignias. On TV, they make us angry women, violent women, weak women. In music videos, our female stars feel the need to show as much skin as possible. It has become something normal and we expect it of them. I always wonder why the women who choose to play these roles are fine with it and I ask myself if they know it impacts all of us. If they realize that while they get money, we get insults flung at us from all directions.

On social media, I see that black women are being portrayed as sex toys and prostitutes. They are the women dancing around poles in music videos and twerking like there’s no tomorrow. We are always second-choice and we are not very appreciated. I spoke to a friend of mine on this topic of how black women are portrayed by the media and he said that he felt that ‘they are undervalued and underrepresented.

However, contrary to what the tabloids say, this is not what it means to be a black woman. It does not mean that we are only sexual beings or aggressive women. It means that we are strong and confident and we always stand up for what we believe in. We don’t let anyone walk over us like rugs. Despite discrimination against us, we make our voices heard.

We are different in a way that no one else is and that’s what makes us who we are. We have the ability to smile even when things are looking bad and we dare to hope. Our skin comes in different shades, like the way our personalities do. We are shrewd, elegant, and divergent. Our natural hair is shaped in such a way that it forms a halo around our faces and I take that as a sign. Some of us might be loud, chatty, tall, skinny, short whatever but we do have something in common. Our melanin. We should not be ashamed of our melanin or consider it a curse, instead, we should consider it one of the greatest gifts God has given us. Just because angels are painted white does not mean we are demonic creatures because we are black.

This Youtuber gave us 10 reasons on why she loves being a black woman. Take a look!

 Being a black woman means that we feel more than anyone else. We love more, we cry more, we laugh more. We are more. Just like our manes of untamable hair, we cannot be controlled by anyone. So the next time you hear someone say “I am a proud black woman”, I want you to understand that the meaning behind these six simple words is greater than one can imagine.