The Sapphire stereotype is one of the main ways white Americans look at black women. It is why so many of them think black women are hard to get along with.
Sapphire, named after a character in “Amos ‘n’ Andy”, always seems to have her hands on her hips while she is running her mouth – putting down her man, making everything into a fight, never taking anything lying down. She is an overbearing, hard and undesirable woman who drives men away. Think of Tichina Arnold’s character Pam in “Martin”. Michelle Obama comes dangerously close to being read this way.
A study done in 1993 of white American university students showed that nearly all of them saw black women as Sapphires to some degree. It seems to be common among black men too. I am guilty of it myself, which is why I write this.
Many black women seem to feel they have to be strong. You do not hear that so much from white women. That gives some black women a hard edge. They often come off seeming hard and overbearing even when they do not mean to. That gives the stereotype an element of truth.
But just because there is some truth to it does not mean it is completely true.
Some of it is just pure stereotype. For example, where white women are said to be “independent”, black women are said to be “emasculating”, robbing their men of their sense of manhood. Where white women are said to be standing up for themselves, black women are seen as wanting a fight. And so on. The same actions are read differently.
This makes it harder for black women to become leaders. Think if Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama were both running for president. They would not be judged the same way. Think then of what must go on inside businesses where women are trying to move up.
The Sapphire stereotype also hurts their chances of getting married. What man would knowingly marry a woman like this? Black men sometimes use it as an excuse to go after white women. For many white men it is one of the main things (but not the only thing) that keeps them away from seriously dating black women.
In my own experience the Sapphire stereotype seems to be the most true to life. A little too true. I wish it were just all a sick lie.
Yet, even so, the Sapphire stereotype seems to be cut from the same cloth as the Jezebel one: Just as Jezebels are blamed for their rape by white men, so Sapphires are blamed for the weak position of their men in society – instead of blaming the very same white men!
In the Moynihan Report in the 1960s the government wanted to know why blacks were so poor. Part of the blame went to a form of the Sapphire stereotype: the Matriarch.
See also:
Sapphires are blamed for the weak position of their men in society – instead of blaming the very same white men!
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I would be careful with that one. Black women say they need to be strong because no one else will take up for them. Black women have to raise children on their own and provide for their families. A man should be a man and take care of his resposibilities and not blame it on white men(that is ridiculous). It is 2008 not 1968 yes there is racism and there is no denying it. However that has not and never will stop a determined black man to accomplish anything he wants. With that being said I still feel like black women need to stop being so hard. You can be strong and take care of yourself without emasculating your men. Your strength should be a more quiet inner strength not a loud, over bearing, always have to be right strength.
@ yaz: Rightly or wrongly so, black women *are* blamed for the futility of black men. I can see both sides of the argument, honestly.
I don’t understand why ’strong’ seems to be interpreted by so many women as being disagreeable, combative, argumentative and stand offish. Those characteristics would indicate to me that the woman is not strong but insecure.
I’m fortunate to know women who are driven, accomplished, self-sufficient and intelligent (my take on being ’strong’). Most of them are black but some of them aren’t. Race notwithstanding, those are the women I’m content to be around.
The loud, neck-rolling, hip shifting woman who always has beef … I table my meetings with her for never.
I am gong to let you finish analyzing the stereotypes until I post about them, but I think this could be the start of an interesting discussion.
Whatever happened to judging people by the content of the character and not the color of the skin?
Whatever to judging people as Indivisuals and not by race?
Just because one or a few black women does/act a certain way that still don’t give you or nobody else a right to judge black women in general. Most black women are not like Omarosa, New York, etc. If they are then it’s probably because of the crap they have to put up with. How does Michelle Obama fit into this catagory? She’s an intelligent, sweet, and beautiful woman that stands by her husband’s side. I’ve never seen any snide impression of her and I highly doubt anybody has either.
Tichina Arnold’s Pam was a character. How did she fit into the character? The only person she was sick of was Martin. Yes Omarosa acts a fool and couldn’t win for nothing, New York’s a fool but why is it that black people point out the negative people but ignore the postive ones. Oprah, Tyra, Halle, Beyonce, Whoopi, Rolanda, Cathy Hughes etc. Are those women your stereotypes? No but instead you rather focus on stereotypical ones.
I can expect anything from whites because what they say nor what they think means absolutly nothing. Some of you blacks I expected so much better.
Unique: Yes, of course, people should be judged individually. And yes, of course, most black women are not Sapphires. The point of this post is that many black women will be misread according to this stereotype.
Gina: I saw your blog while reading about Shirley Q. Liquor. Keep up the good work!
LH and yaz: I agree. A woman who is truly strong would not act like this. Sapphire behaviour is driven by insecurity and fear, not strength.
Thank You, Abagond. You’re right alot of black women will be mislead if they choose to live up to this stereotype. It’s their job that these women won’t fall for it.
As a black women, I don’t act like this and neither does my friends. We’re living just fine and it’s looked up too. I also agree that people who act like this is really insecure.
We got to do better and we can!!
I thought your site was really informative.I am currently writing my master thesis on self esteem in african-american girls, and I am having a hard time finding research. Mainly because our plight is rarely researched, wonder why? Negative perceptions of African-American women are prevelent so much with our young people–I think b/c they don’t know the orgins and young girls tend to perpectuate these myths from generations of mis-info/lack of info. I believe African-American women are so strong, so powerful and due to receive the respect that we have never be given. thank you, for your information.
Glad to be of service. Good luck on your thesis. If you want me to write about a particular subject, I am opened to suggestions.
You might be interested in these posts too:
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/the-missing-white-woman-syndrome/
The Missing White Woman Syndrome
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/henry-louis-wallace/
Henry Louis Wallace
And there is the whole issue of beauty:
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/race-and-beauty/
race and beauty
And so on…
It just seems like we are at the bottom of the barrel(according to society). Out of all the races it seems that blck women are considered the “least” attractive, desirable whatever, White girls wear weaves…noone cares, but we do it & all hell breaks loose. Maybe sometimes we act like that because we feel like we have to defend ourselves because noone else will, because like you said..black men don’t want us, white women think they are better( because ppl KEEP telling them they are), white or other men don’t want us so…it’s like everyone is against us! WTF! WHY ARE THERE SOO MANY RULES FOR US!!
I feel they are using Mrs. Obama to get to Senator Obama. They have always used the black women to get to our black men, and to divide our families. If they can weaken her, they can weaken him. Because they know that together they are a force hard to beat. Black women have always been strong and kept the family together, inspite of the lack of support we have had from society and the Church. Yes, we have had to be strong. I say to Mrs. Obama don’t let their opinion of her, define who she is, a good person.
They used the comment about Mrs. Obama to define her as being “un-American.” Well, people in America has not always done things to blacks that it can be proud of, especially in the polical arena. It is not surprizing that Mrs. McCain has “always been proud of American,” she has benefited all of her life from being a white women with money. I find it interesting that the media can’t see this, or can they?
That is strange! I noticed the very same thing!
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/06/21/in-defence-of-michelle-obama/
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/06/21/cindy-mccain-always-proud-of-her-country/
I doubt the media sees that difference between Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. They do not see McCain as white and they see both of them as having the best America has had to offer – so of course they should be proud, both of them. They are surprised by Michelle Obama’s lack of “patriotism”. It seems ungrateful.
Hey, its just a stereotype….we have to be strong becuz we have to deal w all this
What is the name of the study done in 1993? I’d love to read it for myself
I am sorry but I am confused!…you put Mrs. Obama as being close to this?! This article is bordering on obscene! When you see a strong woman who isn’t ghetto, not docile, and is a leader (who happens to be black)…YOU GIVE HER THIS?!
If she were white, she would have be given a CEO position.
I am sick and ready to throw up on the black women who agree with this article.
“You’re right alot of black women will be mislead if they choose to live up to this stereotype… As a black women, I don’t act like this and neither does my friends. We’re living just fine and it’s looked up too. I also agree that people who act like this is really insecure.” – YOU ARE KIDDING ME!!
Granted there are some women (Amarosa) who fit this. But if you can actually remember the show “Martin” Pa,m only argued with Martin because they didnt like each other and Cole because he was an idiot. She was a loyal friend to Gina and dated the bald one (cant remember his name). She was independent, worked hard, and smart (SHE GET’S THIS?!) COME ON!
There are alot of white female characters in TV like Pam- you dont considered them ball busters.
This made me sad
study “showed that nearly all of them saw black women as Sapphires to some degree. It seems to be common among black men too. I am guilty of it myself, which is why I write this.”
Who are all you ppl that are supporting this article?!
I don’t understand why being strong and having a backbone make you a Sapphire…aren’t we now more evolved that we have more to Black women than being: sex obessed, docile, ghetto, or now Sapphire?
Why could we be seen as smart, strong, and independent without being ball busters.
you know what… in the end if most men feel this way and can’t handle it. I think we Sapphires are better off without them.
About Michelle Obama and the Sapphire stereotype:
I wrote this post back in March 2008. Back then people did not know much about her and, given that the stereotype is out there and given that she is a strong black woman, as they say, she could have wound up being seen as a Sapphire. It was one of the rocks her ship had to avoid. If you ask her I am sure she will admit as much off the record.
Do I think she is a Sapphire? Did I ever think of her that way? No. In this post I simply point out that it was a danger she faced.
Are black women with some backbone seen unfairly as Sapphires? Of course. Are the same sort of white women seen this way? No. It is a racist stereotype.
The whole thing about stereotypes is if you are anything like one of them, then others will apply it to fill in what they do not know about you. If you tell them they are wrong, that you are not like that, they will tend not to believe you.
Are black women with some backbone seen unfairly as Sapphires? Of course. Are the same sort of white women seen this way? No.
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Some “independent” white women are seen that way. Case in point, Hillary Clinton. The reaction against her throught her political life showed that some people saw her as a ball-buster. Is it as bad as what some black women go through…I don’t think so.
I’ve concluded that America just doesn’t like assertive women.
“In my own experience the Sapphire stereotype seems to be the most true to life” Agreed. I just attended a hen party with a whole rack of ‘em. Black couples need refreshers in the basics of effective interpersonal communication.
Jimilee…care to elaborate?
It is precisely through an acute awareness of the Sapphire stereotype that my mother consistently admonished me to be a lady while I was growing up.
Being a lady meant not being a loud-mouthed ghetto girl, sleeping around and getting pregnant by ten different men, and generally acting like an unrefined, ignorant fool.
If I am upset with someone I will not cuss them out in front of everyone, I will take them to the side and calmly give them a piece of my mind. I don not nag my man and treat him like a child, even when he is behaving as one.
I dress with class, I walk with class, I conduct myself as a woman with pride and class. I have never and will never be a sapphire, jezebel, or fat mammy.
I’m not a loud person (no point in it really) I do believe there are times where its best to hold your tongue and there are times when you should say whats on your mind and if you don’t think it warrants diplomacy then follow your instincts.
On to my point though, there would be no racism if there were no self righteousness and hypocrisy. Race is only half of it, sexism is another. Emasculate? what is that really? And why is it pretty much only used when referring to a woman tearing a man a new one? Getting your feelings hurt is different coming from a woman? So black women are being told not to fall into the “Sapphire” bracket, which is just a nice way of saying, hey you need to fall into this bracket over here in order to be liked, after all, you don’t really add up to much if you never get a man and even more importantly, a ring on your finger. I don’t know who made these rules.
I’ve seen bad attitudes in a variation of vessels and I’ve also seen tremendous strength and to ask/demand a strong and opinionated person so act weak to make your life convenient just won’t work out. Just like you have lip servants out there talking about how they want racial harmony and don’t mean it, you have a lot of people who claim to want gender equality but simply can’t handle all that package will entail. Our life experiences and circumstances help shape who we are and to judge the effect without looking at the cause is just asinine. I don’t think I’ll ever understand black people who go on about being so mentally liberated in terms of skin tone and hair texture and blah blah yet clutch to religious beliefs that were forced down our throats by people who put shackles on us in the first place, the same ideas that greenlighted oppression/repression of people of different color and people of the female gender. This “Sapphire” stereotype is nothing but a way all this manifests itself.
Good point: part of being a Sapphire is just sticking up for yourself. To see that as a bad thing is sexist.
Note that religion has been used on both sides. Christianity was used to make having slaves seem natural (as it is in much of the Bible) and yet Christianity comes with moral ideas that make it seem wrong. That is why the West has had periods in its history where slaves were rare – like now and in the Middle Ages.
I’m going to repeat what someone else said because I’m also interested.
“What is the name of the study done in 1993? I’d love to read it for myself”
Well I am A 26 year old black male,, I notice my mom in public and outwardly seems to be some tough nail. But really she is the sweeties woman in the world.. lol .. I guess old habits are hard to alter.