Gender, Race, and Age: An Exploration of Gendered Racial Microaggressions Among Black Emerging Adult Women

Literature has supported that Black emerging adult women experience gendered racial microaggressions (GRM); however, it remains unclear if GRM experiences in this developmental stage contribute to distinct expressions of oppressions or those analogous of young Black women. Using Intersectionality theory, the present study sought to extend existing GRM framework and research by centering on emerging adulthood experiences. Focus group data from 36 Black emerging adult women, ages 18-25, were used. Data yielded three core themes and eight subthemes: Stereotypical Expectations (Defensive Black Woman, Expectations of Strength and Independence, and Expectations to Care and Nurture), Assumptions of Aesthetics and Objectification (Hairism, Colorism, and Fetishized as Exotic), and Feeling Silenced and Marginalized (Ascriptions of Intelligence and Expectation of Submissiveness). These findings are important as they add to existing GRM research by highlighting the role age plays in one’s experiences with GRM and the presentation of historical stereotypes and expectations of Black womanhood.