Critical Contradictions: How Black Girlhood in Schools Complicates Controlling Images
Abstract
Black feminist theory often focuses on the experiences of adult Black women, with limited consideration given to Black girlhood; many in the field of Black girlhood studies call for a deeper theorization of Black feminist theory in relation to Black girlhood. I use an intersectional lens of race, gender, and age to argue that our current understanding of controlling images can benefit from more fully theorizing how Black girlhood becomes subject to systemic violence and dehumanization. Using ethnographic methods at a local 6th- to 12th-grade school, I demonstrate how the controlling images of Jezebel, Sapphire, and Matriarch in the making—an iteration of the Matriarch—distinctly impact Black girls. Moreover, I distinguish how age creates slippages in how these controlling images are experienced. These slippages occur mainly when school staff deny Black girls their age-appropriate sexual exploration and development, and instead allow sexual violence, framing them as angry corrupting influences on others in the school. Such girls are seen as in need of carceral control. I contribute to the literature on Black girlhood studies, Black feminist theory, and the expectations of adulthood among young Black girls in schools to showcase how Black girls vacillate between being seen as adults and as children, furthering negative controlling images placed onto them.
Ingestion failed: Traceback (most recent call last): File "/srv/app/app/worker.py", line 85, in run_once process_job(db, job) File "/srv/app/app/worker.py", line 39, in process_job pdf_path, info = fetch_pdf_temp(candidate["url"]) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/srv/app/app/downloader.py", line 129, in fetch_pdf_temp raise ValueError(f"PDF source returned HTTP {response.status_code}.") ValueError: PDF source returned HTTP 403.
No local PDF is available.
GROBID Extracted text; discontinued.
This text is generated from TEI extraction for accessibility, search, and TTS. Formulas, tables, figures, page layout, and references may not perfectly match the original PDF.
No accessible text representation is available. The text extraction service has been discontinued for the time being. If you require this service, for accessibility or any other reason, please submit an issue/request on this page.
Metadata
Issues
No public issues have been filed for this DOI.
Submit an issue
Record history
| When | Event | Field | Old | New |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-18 19:37:53.011249+00:00 | identifier_assigned | DSEID | DSEID-000-9970409 |