Social Justice Speaker Series: “What Happens If They Come For You”: Mapping Misogynoir In Developmental Discourse

Title: “What Happens If They Come For You”: Mapping Misogynoir In Developmental Discourse

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023 from 7:00PM-8:00PM

VIA ZOOM

Description:

In the current talk, Dr. Leath will present findings on Black mothers’ racial socialization practices with their daughters on racial violence using retrospective interview data with Black college women. She will discuss how Black mother’s socialization normalized their daughter’s sense of self-advocacy and agency in response to racial injustice— illustrating the power of Black mothering as emancipatory and revolutionary praxis. Dr. Leath will highlight variation in the content of Black mothers’ messages based on social class and ethnicity, demonstrating the utility of intersectional approaches in thinking about Black women and girls’ developmental experiences. She will situate these findings within her broader program of research on misogynoir, health, and wellness among Black women and girls.

Objectives:

1. Articulate the concept of misogynoir and explain its use as an intersectional tool for exploring Black women and girls’ identity development.

2. Describe 2 identity-based experiences of Black women and girls, particularly how they are simultaneously hyper visible and invisible in conversations on state-sanctioned violence.

3. Identify 2 reasons that the concepts of intersectionality and gendered racial socialization are impactful in regards to the mental health and wellness of Black women and girls.

References:

Leath, S., Butler-Barnes, S., & Haynes-Thoby, L. (2022). “They Just Keep Coming”: A Study of How Anti-Black Racial Violence Informs Racial Grief and Resistance Among Black Mothers. Journal of child and family studies, 31(12), 3450-3467.

Leath, S., Butler-Barnes, S., Ross, R., & Lee-Nelson, Z. (2021). What happens if they come for you? An exploration of mothers’ racial socialization on discrimination with Black college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45(2), 194-211.

Leath, S., & Mims, L. (2021). A qualitative exploration of Black women’s familial socialization on controlling images of Black womanhood and the internalization of respectability politics. Journal of Family Studies, 1-18.

Bio

Dr. Seanna Leath is an Assistant Professor in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at Washington University in St. Louis. She uses interdisciplinary approaches in education and psychology to understand and address issues related to the holistic development of Black girls and women in the context of families, schools, and communities. She directs the Fostering Healthy Identities & REsilience (FHIRE) Collaborative, which includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a range of community partners in the St. Louis Area who are invested in Black women and girls’ wellness. Dr. Leath has obtained external funding from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Society for Research on Child Development, and the National Center for Institutional Diversity to conduct research with Black families and communities.