Date on Senior Honors Thesis
5-2020
Document Type
Senior Honors Thesis
Degree Name
B.A.
Department
Fine Arts
Degree Program
College of Arts and Sciences
Author's Keywords
intersectionality; Black Feminism; Caricatures; Visual Communication; Visual Representation
Abstract
This thesis investigates how Black womanhood has been visually represented in hopes to either recognize Black women as full, nuanced, and legitimate participants of society or to reinforce monolithic representations built from the constructs of social, political, and economic oppression. It also gives an analysis of Black feminism and how Black feminist thought can be applied to the creative process in hopes of challenging visual misrepresentations of Black womanhood. The aim of this thesis is to show that artists and visual communicators do have a responsibility to be conscious of the messages conveyed in their work. In addition, they must be vigilant about not reinforcing negative stereotypes that represent Black womanhood as an inferior status.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Taylor Simone, "Reclaiming images of Black women: an investigation of Black womanhood in visual communication" (2020). College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses. Paper 221.
Retrieved from https://ir.library.louisville.edu/honors/221
Lay Summary
An identity is made up of many overlapping social categories. Some of these categories are race, gender, class, and ability. The Black woman identity is the intersection of race and gender. More specifically it is the intersection of Blackness and womanhood. For my thesis, the Black woman identity is inclusive in terms of gender identity. This includes transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals. However, the term femme is only used to describe individuals who fall on the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual) spectrum and express feminine qualities that are intentionally related to their identity.
The Black woman identity has been represented across various means of visual communication, such as the fine arts, advertisements, film, and television. The aim of this thesis is to challenge the misrepresentations that reinforce sexist and racist stereotypes and fail to recognize Black women and femme as legitimate participants in society.
This research will address the responsibilities of a visual communicator, someone who creates images that are meant to communicate an idea or message. One of these responsibilities include portraying the Black woman identity as fully realized and nuanced. This is because these portrayals act as extensions of real Black women and femme and thus have real life consequences.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Graphic Design Commons
