Bougie, Ratchet, Ghetto: Defining 21st Century Black womanhood was an online presentation by the AAHM Committee that was facilitated by Ms. Kelsey Bogard and Dr. Tradare Mclaurine.

This presentation spoke about how Black women are often labeled with stereotypes such as bougie, ghetto, ratchet, or sometimes even angry.

In this Zoom discussion Ms. Kelsey Bogard and Dr. Tradare Mclaurine will explain the parallels between the terms bougie, ghetto and ratchet compared to “strong Black woman” and “strong Black independent woman.”

We will also discuss how all limit Black women’s ability to emote transparently and further promote self-hate from our own, racism from others, sexism, constant critiques of our bodies, hair, skin tone, and a whole lot more.

Ms. Kelsey Bogard opened this presentation by showing the audience a performance by Ernestine Johnson.

She spoke about the struggles of growing up in America as a Black girl and in her performance, she describes what the average Black women looks like in today society.

Ernestine Johnson then went on to speak about how she’s not perceived as the average Black women because she doesn’t have stereotypical Black traits.

She spoke about how much pressure and damage this can cause to a young Black woman.

This was a very interactive presentation. Ms. Kelsey Bogard and Dr. Tradare Mclaurine asked the audience questions about being a Black woman which sparked a conversation between everyone.

Ms. Kelsey Bogard and Dr. Tradare Mclaurine spoke about Black stereotypes and where they came from.

Historically, Black women are depicted as domestic servants and low paid employees in the fields of healthcare, childcare and food service industry.

Black women are also constantly put in subordinate categories and they are often seen as “a pretty baby” and a “hot mama.” Black women are over sexualized and objectified.

“Knowing yourself makes it much easier not to internalize the things you hear about yourself,” Bogard said of stereotypes about Black women. “It will still hurt but you won’t be as reactive or responsive.”

Another common stereotype for Black women to hear is the mother or auntie stereotype.

In this stereotype society has made Black women the caretaker of young children even when they have no kids.

Bogard and Mclaurine also spoke on the topic of code switching and how common it is for African Americans.

Some students in the presentation spoke and believe that code switching is a means to survive in the workplace and in other areas as well.

The definition of code switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. Specifically, code switching in regards to race can mean speaking in way that would be more acceptable to white people who might have preconceived ideas of how Black people speak.

Julie Zaborowski can be reached at 581-2812 or jazaborowski@eiu.edu.