African American Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Dominant Culture Influences: Sexism, Racism, and Black Sexuality
African American women face many challenges that result from sexism and racism in the dominant culture and from negative cultural stereotypes about Black sexuality.

Gender hierarchies are a distinct feature of sexism in American culture. Kaschak (1992) observes that Western culture views gender as a dichotomous category containing the prescribed roles and behaviors for men and women (see also Rothblum, this issue). Not all cultures view gender as two dichotomous, mutually exclusive categories. This highlights the important role that culture plays in defining gender and sex roles.

In Western culture, dichotomous gender roles and behaviors are presumed to be a natural outgrowth of biological sex but paradoxically must be taught to all members of society. Socialization is the process used to indoctrinate group members on the behavior that is deemed appropriate for their sex. Those who deviate have been historically punished for doing so (Kaschak, 1992). One of the characteristics considered normative for women is that of sexual attraction to men only. Hence, lesbians violate a fundamental cultural rule. By crossing the boundaries of gender role expectations, lesbians are d eemed defective women who want to be men and are socially subordinate to heterosexual women.

Rigid gender role stereotypes restrict the range of acceptable behaviors, including sexual behavior, for all group members and vilify those who cross gender role boundaries. Furthermore, these roles and behaviors are embedded in a social hierarchy that determines the relative level of social power a person may exercise. In American society, behaviors that define maleness are privileged or valued over behaviors that define femaleness, and the superiority of males is assumed. Therefore, women are expected to be subordinate to men, and "normal" men and women are expected to adhere to traditional sex role and gender expectations.

Racism profoundly affects the lives of African Americans. Traits and behaviors that derive from African culture and, indeed, African American people themselves have historically been denigrated. Distorted images rather than realistic depictions have defined African Americans. The presumed inferiority of African-descended people was essentially used as a rationale for their exploitation and the inhumane treatment to which they were subjected. For African American women, the forced sexual victimization of African female slaves led to the promulgation of many distorted stereotypes, created by White society in an attempt to reconcile the contradiction of this maltreatment and the espoused values of a Christian democracy (e.g., Fox-Genovese, 1988; Greene, 1997). Rather than viewing African Americans as the victims of sexual exploitation, Whites came to see them as bestial and sexually out of control. African American men were considered uniformly "hungry" for sex and therefore dangerous to White women, justifying violence toward them. African American women were seen as sexually aggressive, promiscuous, and lacking in the moral virtues characteristic of "normal" women (Collins, 1990; Jenkins, 1993). This distorted depiction justified the continued sexual exploitation of African American women. In this arrangement, African Americans were considered inferior and were expected to be socially subordinate to White Americans. These highly negative and distorted stereotypes of African Americans affected the ways that their sexuality was viewed. The devastating effects of these distortions are still with us today.

Ethnosexual mythologies may be defined as the sexual myths that a dominant culture generates and holds about men and women of color (Greene, 1996). These mythologies represent a complex combination of racial, gender, and sexual stereotypes, developed to disguise the social reality of racial oppression and exploitation. One component of ethnosexual mythologies is a distortion of the sexuality and sexual behavior of group members. The sexuality of African Americans was exaggerated to make them appear hypersexual, dangerous, and highly eroticized to White Americans, thus justifying the capricious racial and sexual violence directed at them (Greene, 2000b). Wyatt (1997) observes that although all women are the targets of sexual stereotypes of some form, African American women are still stigmatized by stereotypes rooted in slavery. Depictions of their sexuality as irresponsible, always available, and out of control constitute the content of ethnosexual stereotypes of African American women. Wyatt concludes that t his history predisposes African American women to be viewed as either sexually oblivious or perpetually available sexually. When internalized, these beliefs compromise the optimal psychological functioning of African American women in a variety of ways. For example, cases of sexual assault and sexual violence directed against African American women may be taken less seriously, and the women themselves may be deemed responsible for the violence directed against them.

African American Culture and Community
The lives of women of color are influenced not only by the attitudes of the dominant society, but also by unique features of their own cultural history and community. Of particular importance for African American women are the historical legacy of slavery and the significant impact of the interaction between institutionalized racism and sexism on the African American community.

Historically, all Black women share the legacies of being victims of the Atlantic slave trade. Despite their common origins, they are not now, nor were they ever, a homogeneous group. Wekker (1993) observes that prior to their departure from the African coast as slaves, Africans and African women were quite heterogeneous as a group. The mixed preslavery lineages of African women included their membership in various tribes that spoke hundreds of different languages as well as having different systems of family values, family relations, and tribal customs. In addition, a wide range of differences existed in the ways that slavery was practiced in different countries. All of these preslavery diversities and postslavery realities gave rise to a wide range of expressions of identity and female sexuality among African women (Kendall, 1998). Despite their preslavery differences, when African women entered the United States they confronted race-based distinctions that resulted in their being viewed as if they were ho mogeneous, primarily because they were not White. This distorted "homogeneous" view has continued to have an impact on the lives of African American women today. For example, differences among African American women based on class, sexual orientation, and regional and other characteristics that transform the meaning of race and culture are often ignored.

As the primary objects of the U.S. slave trade, African American women are distinct as perhaps the only women of color who were forced to immigrate. Unlike other American immigrants, their struggles with social oppression did not end with the end of slavery but continued through centuries of racial apartheid in the United States.

Racism is not the only form of social oppression that African slave women encountered in the United States. Because African tribes could be quite different from one another, institutionalized sexism was not as consistent a feature of them as it was in the United States. Sexism was present in some tribes but was conspicuously absent in others. In America, African American women's roles were distinguished from those of their White counterparts from the outset by working outside the home and by legitimized sexual victimization (Boyd-Franklin, 1989; Collins, 1990; Jenkins, 1993). As working women, they violated the American cultural imperative for women to remain at home and for men to work outside the home. Further, African American women were frequently assigned to work, particularly as slaves, that was considered unsuitable for any other women of that time. Fox-Genovese (1988) notes that life within plantation households deprived slave women of the option of traditional gender roles and whatever protections t hose roles accorded other American females. Being a slave superceded being a woman.

After the end of slavery, African American women continued to be a significant presence in the American workplace. Racism in the workplace often discriminated against African American men, limiting their ability to support their families in the ways that their White counterparts were able to do. African American women's s incomes were always required to support their families. When they have assumed this role out of necessity, African American women have often been resented by African American men and pathologized by American mental health professionals for their success at work. In these analyses, strong women are viewed as responsible for problems in African American families and for the failure of African American men to gain equity with White men (Collins, 1990; Giddings, 1993).

Another facet of the complex history of racism and sexism for African American women is the extent to which they are held to standards of physical appearance based on the White female ideal. Although conventional standards of beauty, based on idealized and unrealistic depictions of White women, may not be completely attainable even for many White women, they are unattainable for a majority of African American women (Neal & Wilson, 1989; Okazawa-Rey, Robinson, & Ward, 1987; West, 1995). Distorted ideas about the adequacy of their physical appearance continue to have a discernible effect on many African American women's feelings about their body image and attractiveness. These may be reflected in a sense of shame, guilt, or anger about their physical characteristics, particularly variations in skin color, hair Texture and length, and body shape and size (Iijima-Hall, 1995; West, 1995).

Failing, through no fault of their own, to meet the dominant culture's gender stereotypes, African American women are viewed as less feminine and less physically attractive than White women. The prevailing assumption is that African American women are always strong and domineering, when women should be weak and fragile (Collins, 1990). Strong women in American culture are viewed as defective women, as are lesbians. These myths characterize African American women as emasculating women who are controlling of men. They are also seen as sexually promiscuous women who both provoke and deserve abuse, sexual victimization, or both (Giddings, 1993; Greene, 2000b; West, 1995).

When these myths are internalized, many African American women blame themselves for the social barriers that confront African American men. When this happens, many African American women unwittingly subscribe to relationships patterns that enable female subordination and may provide a fertile context for the development of emotional abuse as well as domestic violence. Some women may express the notion that they are being "supportive" of their men or that they must compensate their men for the abuse born of racism. Although assertiveness has been an important survival tool for African American women, it has also been used to depict them as inferior women. Furthermore, African American men are encouraged to blame strong women for the barriers that are a function of racism. African American women and lesbians are prime targets for such scapegoating.

As a result of this historical legacy, traits and behaviors that derive from African culture have been confounded with behaviors that derive from the need to manage the racism and sexism of the dominant culture. Characteristics derivative of African culture include a strong religious and spiritual orientation, strong kinship bonds among non-blood-related kin, a strong work orientation, a value of expressive individualism, and the importance of the group or tribe over individual needs (Boyd-Franklin, 1989; Hill, 1971). Extended rather than nuclear family networks are more typical of African American families. Similarly, motherhood is an important role for African American women, who "mother" the children of their communities in different ways. African American women often assume responsibility for the children of relatives when needed and provide important support to parents of the family's children. Many similar characteristics may also be found in the cultures of other people of color.

Interactions With Family, Community, and Partners
Social relations provide important contexts for the lives of African Americans. African American lesbians may face special issues in their connections to their families of origin, the African American community, and their intimate partners.

African American Families
A major role of African American families is to socialize their children and to teach them adaptive strategies for managing racism (Boyd-Franklin, 1989). Strong family ties and flexible gender roles have long been recognized as features of African American families. However, this does not mean that there is no sexism within African American families (Greene & Boyd-Franklin, 1996). The family is also the primary social unit and most prominent source of emotional and material support for most, but certainly not all, African American lesbians. Because of the strength of family ties, there is the perception that a lesbian family member is less likely to be expelled from an African American family than from a White family, even though the family may not approve of her sexual orientation. However, heterosexual parents may not have the same insights about negotiating heterosexism that they possess about negotiating racism. Some families of African American lesbians may be less able to assist them in this regard or may even be rejecting.

Homophobia in African American Communities
The legacy of ethnosexual mythologies plays a role in the response of many African Americans to lesbians in their families or as visible members of their communities. The African American community is perceived by many of its lesbian members as extremely homophobic (Croom, 1993; Mays & Cochran, 1988). Internalized racism contributes to homophobia among African Americans. African Americans who have internalized the negative stereotypes, particularly sexual stereotypes of African Americans, may regard any sexual behavior outside of dominant cultural norms as reflecting negatively on African Americans as a group and threatening their chances for acceptance (e.g., Cohen, 1999; Greene, 2000b; Poussaint, 1990). Since acceptance of lesbian sexual orientations may be seem as inconsistent with the dominant culture's ideal, lesbians may be experienced as an embarrassment by African Americans who strongly identify with the dominant culture (Cohen, 1999; Poussaint, 1990; West, 1999).

African American churches illustrate one way that homophobic attitudes can manifest themselves in the African American community. Although the Black church has been an important institution in the Black community and a potent source in liberation theology, it has been less than supportive to its lesbian members. Denominations vary in their official policies on homosexuality, but many commentators have observed that the Black church sweeps eroticism under the rug and fails to give homosexuality a "foot in the door" (e.g., Gomes 1996; Monroe, 1998; and West, 1999). An atmosphere of compulsory heterosexuality often pervades an institution that espouses a profoundly conservative theological position on sexuality (e.g., Cone, 1990; West, 1999). According to Monroe (1998), theological homophobia in the Black church results from a "ministry of misogyny." She argues that a belief in male dominance and superiority is an active ingredient in homophobia; in the context of this belief, social action is predicated on the devaluation of women, lesbians, gays, and transgendered persons.

Partners
There is great diversity among African American lesbians, and that diversity is reflected in their relationships with partners. The race/ethnicity of the partner of an African American lesbian can greatly affect the dynamics of the relationship as well as its visibility/invisibility and therefore how it is perceived and received by the African American family and community.

Overall, the relationships of African American lesbians are largely unsupported outside of the lesbian community. Some women may find support for their relationship within the African American community or within their families: this support, however, often depends on the maintenance of the invisibility of their relationship (Gomez, 1999). Lesbian women of color often find that their families support their struggles with racism and perhaps sexism but cannot assume that families will also support their same-sex relationships or their struggles with heterosexism (Greene, 2000b). African American lesbians are more likely to have relationships with women who do not share their ethnicity than are their White counterparts, in part because of their smaller numbers (Croom, 1993; Greene & Boyd-Franklin, 1996; Mays & Cochran, 1988; Mays, Cochran, & Rhue, 1993). Interracial relationships face even greater challenges, among them their heightened visibility, a White partner's inexperience or insensitivity in dealing with racial bafflers and insults, and disapproval from both White and African American lesbian peers (Greene, 2000b). In addition, the belief in ethnosexual stereotypes depicting African American lesbians as less sexually inhibited than their White counterparts may fuel the tendency to eroticize and objectify a lesbian of color (Greene & Boyd-Franklin, 1996).

Challenges to Integrating Multiple Identities: Healthy Transformations
African American lesbians provide an example of women who face the challenge of integrating more than one salient identity in an environment that devalues them on all levels. In addition to maintaining her personal psychological integrity in the face of a hostile environment, an African American lesbian or, indeed, any lesbian of color is confronted with the task of finding and maintaining intimate relationships in a social environment that provides little or no support. Of course, many African American lesbians do survive and even thrive; they do so, however, in spite of a social climate that is riddled with hostility.

Few African American lesbians avoid the charge of racial disloyalty. The assumption that a lesbian sexual orientation is inconsistent with an authentic "Black" identity represents another expression of homophobia, one that complicates the process of integrating one's sexual orientation identity with other aspects of one's person. Most African American women develop a sense of awareness as an African American person long before they are aware that they are lesbian. This means that the development of healthy coping mechanisms against homophobia may be delayed.

In healthy African American families, children learn to view themselves positively because of loved and trusted family members' positive responses to them as African Americans--a process known as cultural mirroring. Positive cultural mirroring affirms and reinforces for family members the salience and positive aspects of membership in one's ethnic group. Lesbian women of color seldom receive positive cultural mirroring for the sexual-minority aspect of their identity and may actually find themselves under attack if they disclose their sexual identity (Greene, 2000b). African Americans and other families of color teach their children how to negotiate racial barriers; they may, however, be unable to teach them about how to negotiate homophobia. Not unlike people with disabilities, lesbians and gay men must go outside of their families to develop an affirmative locus of identity where their sexual orientation is concerned (Greene, 2000a).

African American lesbian and bisexual women share many life dilemmas with other women of color and with lesbians of color in particular. Racism affects heterosexual and lesbian/bisexual women of color differently, just as it affects men and women differently. Just as race defines sexuality, sexuality also defines race in a range of ways and in a reciprocal fashion. Both shape the construction and manifestations of heterosexism and internalized heterosexism. All of these variables serve as the crucible within which a consolidated identity is forged.

(*.) Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Beverly Greene, Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York 11217 [e-mail: BGreene203@ aol.com].

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author: Beverly A. Greene