Black Womanhood: "Essence" and its Treatment of Stereotypical Images of Black Women Author(s): Jennifer Bailey Woodard and

Teresa Mastin Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Nov., 2005), pp. 264-281 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034332 Accessed: 22/08/2010 21:54
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sage. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Sage Publications, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Black Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

BLACK WOMANHOOD: Essence and its Treatment of Stereotypical Images of Black Women
JENNIFERBAILEYWOODARD
Middle TennesseeState University

TERESAMASTIN
MichiganState University

One could assumeit is a given thatEssence magazinedispels stereotypical images of Black women and that it works to liberatethem from the stricturesimposed on themby a worldin which they live as an undervalued and After all, this is the only longstandingwomen's marginalizedminority. magazine that targetsBlack women and addresses specifically their culturalandemotionalneeds as AfricanAmericansand women. This content analysisexamines whetherEssence worksas a liberatingfeministtext that dispels, as opposedto validates,stereotypicalimages of Black women. We hypothesize that (a) there will be more evidence to dispel the stereotypes than to perpetuatethem and (b) that of the four majorAfrican American women stereotypes mammy,matriarch, sexual siren,andwelfaremother or queen- the matriarchand sexual siren stereotypes will be dispelled more frequently.Results supportthe former hypothesis entirely and the latterhypothesispartially. Keywords: Essence magazine;Black women;Black womanhood;Black stereotypes;womenstereotypes;Blackpopular culture

One of the authors remembersa girlfriendonce saying with all seriousness, "Youcan't be a Black woman and not read Essence. We all read Essence!' She said this nonchalantly,yet with reverence. It wasjust one Black womanspeakingcultureto another. This was while the authorwas an undergraduate the late 1980s. But in Essence hadbecome a partof Black life long beforeit was statedso firmly what Essence meantto Black women. Essence continuesto give Black women variedimages of themselvesto look at andread
JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES, Vol. 36 No. 2, November2005 264-281 DOI: 10.1177/0021934704273152 2005 Sage Publications

264

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 265

Whitepublicaabout,imagesthatappearonly rarelyin mainstream tions, if at all. Its mastheadproudlyproclaimsthat Essence is the magazine"forand aboutBlack women,"and many Black women have an intimate,personalrelationshipwith Essence. One could assumeit is a given thatEssence dispels stereotypical images of Black women andthatit worksto liberatethemfromthe stricturesimposed on them by a world in which they live as an undervalued marginalized and minority.AfricanAmericanwomen have a rich literaryhistory of fighting oppressionthroughwords (hooks, 1981, 1989). Although Essence magazine is presentedas being a continuationof the rich history that forms and informs Black feminism, the magazine is owned and operatedby Black men, and Black men in American society perpetuatetheir own patriarchythat mirrorstheir White male counterparts(Collins, 1991; Guy-Sheftall, 1995). The present owners (two of the five originalfounders),EdwardT. Lewis and ClarenceO. Smith, present Essence as a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African Americanwomen"(Whitaker,1995, p. 79). At its heart,Essence is a very successful moneymakingventurethat noticed a neglected marketandcapitalizedon it. Therefore,the purposeof this content and contextualanalysis is to examine whetherEssence works as a liberatingfeministtext thatdispels, as opposedto validates,stereotypical images of Black women. At present,there is no published researchthat has exclusively of examinedEssence's portrayal Black women. However,findings of scholarlyresearchhave consistently supportedthat the images of Black women in the mainstream press, as a whole, aredetrimental and stereotypical (Matabane, 1989; Rhodes, 1993). Media images of Blackpeople in generalcan be, accordingto Hall ( 1990), of categorizedinto three"base-imagesof the 'grammar race'":the yet conniving,slave figure;the nativewho is both digdependable, whose existence is nified and savage;and the clown or entertainer definedby how well he or she amuses the White majority(pp. 1516). Collins (1991) and Bobo (1995) furtherrefined these definitions and appliedthem specifically to Black women. They identified four dominantand oppressive stereotypicalimages of Black

266 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

women: the mammy,the matriarch, sexual siren, and the welthe fare motheror queen.1 It is vital thatEssence is studiedto determinewhetherthe magazine validates or dispels these images because of the power it wields amongBlack women. Marketresearchas of 1993 estimated thatEssence reaches50%of all Black women who earn$50,000 or more and approximately38% of its readersare college graduates (Whitaker,1995, p. 79). Of all the magazinesthatcaterto women, Essence is the only long-standingmagazine (i.e., in print for 30 years) that targets Black women and addresses specifically their culturaland emotional needs as African Americans and women. The magazine boasts a monthly readershipbase of 7.5 million worldwide (i.e., United States, U.S. military,Civilian Personnel Overseas, Canada, and Internationalareas) (Essence Magazine Media Kit, 2000). As of 1999, accordingto the U.S. Bureauof the Census, approximately 19.0 million African American women were U.S. citizens (U.S. Census Bureau,2000). The Essence Magazine Media Kit (2000) maintains that the magazinereaches69.3% of the total Black female populationrepresentedin the 18 to 49 age group.This statisticpositions Essence as a potentiallypowerfulsite for voicing andredefiningwho Black women arein an arenathatincludesa largeandvariedpopulationof Black women. The magazinereinforcesthis image listing its profile in the 2000 EditorialPlanningCalendaras follows:
Essence is the magazine for today's African American woman. Edited for career-minded,sophisticated,and independentachievers, Essence is dedicatedto helpingits readersattaintheirmaximum potentialin variouslifestyles and roles. The editorialincludescoverage of careerand educationalopportunities,fashion and beauty, investing and money management,health and fitness, parenting, home decorating,food and travel,as well as culturalreviews, fiction, and profiles of achieversand celebrities. {Essence Magazine Media Kit, 2000)

From its first appearance newsstandsin May 1970, Essence on to Black women andwas privyto theirconcernsin a way that spoke was culturallyunique,distinct,andspecific. YetEssence possesses

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 267

a dual contextuality.It is partof a capitalistconsumerand patriarchal system that enables it to be a successful money-makingventurefor the Black men who publishit, while its editorialcontentis controlledby Black women writersand editors who refuse to be defined by mainstreamstereotypes.2 Although many of the Black women who edit and write for Essence may be reluctantto label themselves feminists, "as culturalproducers[they] have taken on the task of creatingimages of themselvesdifferentfromthose continually reproducedin traditionalworks" (Bobo, 1995, p. 45). Therefore,a discussionof Black feminismis relevantto this article. Even thoughmanyBlack women chose not to call themselvesfeminists, they follow the basic principlesof Black feminismeveryday of theirlives. The practiceof Black feminismrecognizesa directlink between experience and consciousness. Essence serves as one of the best read and most valuableoutlets for African Americanwomen fiction writers(i.e., Nikki Giovanni,Ntozake Shange,ToniMorrison, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker,TerryMcMillian, etc.), journalists (i.e., Jill Nelson), historians(i.e., Paula Giddings), and essayists (i.e., bell hooks, the late Audre Lourde, Bebe Moore Campbell, etc.). Essence brings renownedwritersand up-and-coming,both fiction and nonfiction,authorstogetherin one glossy packagethat has the potential to be both entertainingand educational. Most of these writers and the editors-in-chief, past and present, selfidentify as Black feminists or womanists.It is this fact thatmakes Essence a possible voice for Black feminism. There are four basic principles that Black feminism endorses (Collins, 1991): 1. Racism, and are of sexism, classism interlocking systems oppression. a vision thatwill not acceptany 2. We mustmaintain humanist amount human of oppression. and 3. We mustdefineourselves give voice to the everyday Black woman everyday and experiences. 4. Wemust from that are operate thestandpoint Blackwomen unique andourexperiences unique. are

268 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

Black feminism is also composed of a body of knowledge and that understanding positions itself as criticaltheoryto criticizeand addresssocial problems.It furtherarguesthatBlack women intellectuals are central to the productionof Black feminist thought. Black feminists contend that there can be no separationof ideas from experience and that Black feminism is not a set of abstract principles,butit is a set of ideas thatcome directlyfromthe historical and contemporary experienceof Black women (Collins, 1991; Guy-Sheftall,1995;hooks, 1981). As such, Black feminismstands uniquely poised to evaluate the stereotypesthat Essence may or may not dispel and its standingas a feminist-orientedtext. Given thatEssence is marketedspecifically towardBlack women, Black feminist theory is the logical site from which to begin a critical analysis of this mediumusing both qualitativetextualanalysisand quantitativecontent analysis to describe how the Essence reader may decode stereotypicalimages within the magazine.

METHOD The dependentvariableof this study is Black women's images. Existing research(Collins, 1991; hooks, 1989; Jewell, 1993) suggests thatthis variablecan be brokendown into four dominantstethe reotypicalimages of Black women:the mammy,the matriarch, sexual siren, and the welfare mother or queen. Each individual issue of Essence containsbetween four and seven featurearticles. The featurearticlesare the heartof the magazineand the partthat differentiatesit from other women's magazines because of the exclusive focus on issues and topics of concern to Black women. Therefore,it is in these articlesthatnegative,damagingstereotypes of Black women will be either dispelled or validated.A random sampleof 80 articlestakenfrom a masterlist of all featuresfrom4 years (48 issues) of Essence was examined.Froma list of 240 articles, every thirdarticlewas coded for stereotypicalimages andfor articletopic.The entirearticlewas the unitof analysis. predominant The results were analyzedusing SPSS.

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 269

Essence has been a monthly publicationsince it began in May 1970. To get an indicationof how Essence has changedover time, 24 issues publishedin the 1970s (i.e., January1976 to December 1977) and 24 issues published in the 1990s (i.e., May 1996 to December 1996, January1997 to December 1997, January1998 to May 1998) were studied.These years were chosen because during its 30-year-pluspublishing history,Essence has had six different editors,but only two have stayed more than 1 year. editorof Ms. Magazine)was editor MarciaGillespie (the current fromJuly 1971 to July 1980. It was underherdirectionthatEssence began to trulydevelop a distinctvoice. In Gillespie's words,
I wasn't interestedin what otherwomen's magazinesdid, because women's magazineshave been developedfor a whole otherkind of woman;one who hadnot come up throughslavery,one who hadnot had to work, always work. One who had not been independentas Black women have been independentand on their own. (Taylor, 1995, pp. 49-50)

The years 1976 and 1977 were chosen for coding from Gillespie's time at Essence because these were the middle years of her tenure; thus, it can be expected that by this point, she would have develvoice, andstyle for the magazinethat personality, oped a particular matchedher own. Susan Taylor was the editor of Essence for approximately19 years, from June 1981 to June 2000. Underher direction,Essence sailed into the 1990s and become a household necessity in many Blackhomes aroundthe world.Taylorupgraded Gillespie's service and shifted its perspectivefirmly towardthe Black midmagazine dle class. TaylorexpandedEssence's coverage into international reportingand made it a magazine that included Black men in the dialogue. Her 1990s covers, more likely thannot, featureda Black movie starwho was currentlybeing admiredby the popularpress andBlack women (i.e., 'Lil' Kim,Will Smith,Cece Winans).Then, star. the openingfeaturestorywould revolve aroundthatparticular in place today, and Essence continTaylor'sand formularemains ues to be a glossy, polished publication. As a result, this study examines a 2-year period duringthe tenureof each editor'sreign,

270 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

which allows an examinationof stereotypicalreferences during both editorialperiods.The most recent24 issues fromthe time this study was conductedwere chosen to representTaylor'stenure as editor. Coded categories. The conceptual definition of stereotypical images is all negativeimages of Black women thatserveto support an oppressivepatriarchal systemthatdegradesanddenigratesthem to race, class, and gender.Fourstereotypicalimages are according outlined by Black feminist literature: mammy,the matriarch, the the sexual siren, and the welfare queen. Using Holsti's coefficient of reliability, intercoderreliability was calculated at an acceptable level of .80. Eight articles were coded for this assessment(10%,N = 80). The firstauthorcoded all articles. An article is deemed as validatingthe stereotypeif it uses the to languageof the stereotypewithoutattempting put forthan alternate image. An articleis seen as dispelling the stereotypeif it uses the languageof the stereotypeor identifiesthe stereotypeandthen proceeds to show how it is a myth or attempts to put forth an alternateimage. For example, an article that contains a major presence of the matriarch Faithof stereotypeand dispels it is "TheExtraordinary Pauli Murray"(Scarupa, 1977). In this profile, Murrayis celebratedas being the nation's Blackwoman first and Episcopal priest, withstartling regshe or her the ularity hasbeen"first," "only," "before time": only woman herclassatHoward School;theonlywoman the in Law in New law Wharton distinguished York firmof Paul,Weiss,Rifkin, andGarrison Shewastalking about non-violence feminism and beforemostpeopleknewwhatthe wordsmeant,andher Proud Rootsby 20 Shoes,the storyof hermaternal ancestors, preceded 1977,p. 91) years.(Scarupa, Murrayhas a strong sense of family and community, but she has no desire for children. She is an independent, kind leader. This article was coded as dispellingthe matriarch stereotypebecauseof the language it used and the celebratorytone that invites Black

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 27 1

women to share in Murray'sfirsts and even become trailblazers themselves. In this study, 80 articles were coded to determinewhetherthe stereotypeswere presentand,if so, whetherthey were dispelled or validated.The entirearticlewas coded for each stereotype.Thus it is possible thatan articlecontainedall four stereotypes,but it may only mentiontwo in passing and validatethem while overwhelmingly focusing on two other stereotypesand dispelling them. The first image is thatof the mammy.In this stereotypicalcateas gory,the Black womanis characterized a loyal domestic servant to White people. She loves, takes care of, and provides for her that Whitefamily overherown. Collins (1990) purports this image was "createdto justify the economic exploitationof house slaves and sustainedto explain Black women's long-standingrestriction to domestic service; the mammy image representsthe normative yardstickused to evaluate all Black women's behavior"(p. 71). examples that prove the persistency of this image Contemporary include Florida Evans, the mother on the 1970s TV series Good Times,and Nell Carter,the housekeeperin the popular 1980s TV were large, deep brown programGimmeA Break.Both characters in color, self-sacrificing, loyal, humble, and usually jovial. This bent of Essence, workingclass image, given the currentmarketing thanthe otherstereotypes. will receiveconsiderablyless attention She the The next image is thatof the matriarch. represents image Black womanas a motherwithinthe Black home. The 1960s of the MoynihanReportsolidified this image within the minds of many Americans with the image of a controlling, emasculatingBlack womanwho dictatedto bothherchildrenandhermantheirplace in her home. This mother,too, works outside the home, and her childrensufferfor it. Collins (1990) explainshow the matriarch image is "central to interlocking systems of race, gender, and class oppression":
allows the domAfricanAmericanwomenas matriarchs Portraying inant group to blame Black women for the success or failure of Black children.AssumingthatBlack povertyis passed on intergenerationallyvia value transmissionin families, an elite White male standpointsuggests thatBlack childrenlack the attentionand care

272 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

allegedly lavished on White, middle-class children and that this deficiency seriously retardsBlack children'sachievement.Such a view diverts attentionfrom the political and economic inequality affectingBlack mothersand childrenand suggests thatanyonecan rise from poverty if he or she only received good values at home, (p. 74)

These two images workto box in Black women. Being the good mammytakesherawayfromherhome. If she is employedandproviding for her family, then she is not feminine and dependent role. It enough and hurtsBlack men in theirtraditional patriarchal becomes a no-win situation.Claire Huxtable,the characterin the immensely popularTV programThe Cosby Show is the modernRecent studies have shown thatviewers saw her as day matriarch. overly aggressive,not maternal enough, too outspoken,andoverly towardbothherhusbandandchildren.A womancan be controlling seen as both a mammyand a matriarch, with the case of Florida as Evans and Nell Carter,who each possessed the visual characteristics of the mammy,but also the outspoken,controllingcharacter traitsof the matriarch. The thirdimage is thatof the sexual siren,which represents negative portrayalsof the Black women as bitch or whore. The sexuin ally aggressive,uncaringJezebel image is "central this nexus of elite White male images of Black womanhoodbecause efforts to controlBlack women's sexualitylie at the heartof Black women's oppression" (p. 77). White males fostered this image of Black women during slavery to excuse their sexual abuse and rape of Black women. Because Black women were such sexual animals, the White man could not help but get carriedaway. And because she was characterized somethingotherthanhuman,the assault as did not matter.This image of the Black woman cares for nothing but her own sexual satisfaction.It is an image the media love. Forexample, in the criticallyacclaimedTV seriesAlly McBeal, the only Black female characteris a promiscuous, kick-boxing assistantdistrictattorney.She has friends, but loves herself more thananything.She dresses in skin-tight,shortsuits thatrevealand display her legs, waist, and breasts. The Black gangsterrappers, Lil' Kim andFoxy Brown,each wearnext to nothingin theirmusic

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 273

videos, on CD covers, and in picturesthat accompanyinterviews women, TV producgiven by them to magazines.These particular and so forthexploit the sexuers, writers,pornography executives, alized image of Black women for profit. The fourth image is that of the welfare mother or queen. This stereotypical characteris "essentially an updated version of the breederwomanimage of slavery"(Collins, 1990, p. 76) when slave ownerswantedBlack women to reproduce moreslaves andcharacterizedthemas beasts,as opposedto the genteel Whitewomanwith a delicate constitution.The new version that sees welfare mothers as breedinganimalswho have no desire to work,but arecontentto live off the state,positionsBlack women as "acostly threatto political and economic stability"and heterosexualmarriagebecause as she is portrayed a womanliving alone with herchildren(Collins, 1990, pp. 76-77). This image of the welfaremotheror queenplaces the blame and responsibility of poverty on the shoulders of the Black motherand "shiftsthe angle of vision away from structural sources of poverty and blames the victims themselves"(Collins, 1990, p. 77). It also justifies the dominant society's efforts to restrictthe fertilityof Black women. This scheming,manipulative, sexualizedimage is attachedto the poor or working class.

HYPOTHESES This study poses four hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: There will be more evidence to dispel the stereotypes them. thanto perpetuate 2: Gillespie's Essence (1970s) will have more images of Hypothesis the mammyand welfare motheror queen stereotypesthanTaylor's Essence (1990s). Hypothesis3: The stereotypicalimages thatwill be dispelledmost freand quentlywill be the matriarch sexual siren. and 3a: The matriarch sexual sirenstereotypeswill be disHypothesis pelled more frequentlyin the 1990s thanin the 1970s.

274 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

FINDINGS

Of the 80 articles examined, 67.5% were written by Black women.3 Seventy-five percent of the articles concerned African Americansresidingin NorthAmerica,whereas 10%of the articles focused on Blacks residingin international settings.Sixty-fivepercent of the articleswere set in an urbanarea.Well-knownindividuals were featuredin most of the articles. More specifically, there were 20 profiles of successful women and seven profiles of successful men. A quarter the articlesdealt with relationships(e.g., of betweenmen andwomen, women andwomen, men andmen, etc.). Racial discriminationby White people against Black people was the third largest topical category covered, and work-relatedand health-relatedarticles were the fourth and fifth categories most often covered. Hypothesis 1 was supported. As shown in Table 1, writers dispelled approximately 96% of the 1970s and 92% of the 1990s stereotypical referencesmadein articlesaboutthe examined stereotypes. Hypothesis 2 was not supported. Gillespie's 1970s articles includedtwo references,or 4.6% of totalreferences(N= 44), to the mammystereotypeand 12 referencesor 27.3% of total references to the welfaremotheror queen stereotype.In comparison,Taylor's 1990s articles included eight references or 12.7% of total references (N = 63) to the mammy stereotype and 15 references, or 23.8%of totalreferences, thewelfaremotherorqueenstereotype. to However,as shown in Table2, based on the total numberof stereotypicalreferences,the welfare motheror queen stereotypewas referencedand dispelled at a higherpercentage,27.3% duringthe 1970s thanduringthe 1990s, 23.8%. Hypothesis 3 was partially supported.During the 1970s, the matriarch stereotypewas dispelled most often, n = 23 or 54.8% of total stereotypicaloccurrences(N = 44). The sexual siren was dispelled thirdmost often, n - 5 or 11.9%of total occurrences.The welfaremotheror queenwas addressedmorethantwice as often as the sexual siren stereotype,n = 12 or 28.6% of total occurrences.

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 275

TABLE 1

Dispelling Versus Validating Stereotypes

Sexual Mammy Matriarch Siren 1970sa Dispel Validate Total 1990sb Dispel Validate Total Welfare Mother or Queen Percentage of Total Occurrence

Total

2 0 2 8 0 8

23 1 24 16 2 18

5 1 6 19 3 22

12 0 12 15 0 15

42 2 44 58 5 63

95.5 4.6

92.1 7.9

a. Totalarticles= 40; Totaloccurrences= 44. b. Totalarticles= 40; Totaloccurrences= 63.

During the 1990s, the sexual siren, n = 19 or 32.8% of total occurrences(N =63), was dispelled most often, followed by the matriarchstereotype, n - 16 or 27.6% of total occurrences(see Table2). The welfare motheror queen stereotypewas referenced almostas often as the matriarch stereotype,n = 15 or 25.9%of total occurrences. Hypothesis 3a was partially supported.During the 1990s, the sexualsirenwas dispelledmoreoften, n - 19 or 32.8%of total 1990 occurrences(N= 63), thanduringthe 1970s, n = 5 or 11.9%of total 1970s occurrences(N = 44). However,the matriarch dispelled was moreoften duringthe 1970s (n = 23) thanduringthe 1990s (n = 16). In fact, of the 1970 articlesexamined,54.8% of all referencesdispelled the matriarch stereotype.By comparison,only 27.6%of the 1990 articles'referencesaddressedthe matriarch stereotype.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Essence editors and writers appearto be clearly aware of the examinedstereotypesand of a need to dispel them. As suspected, the mammystereotypewas coveredleast of all. This is not surprislife ing as present-day servesto dispel the mammystereotype.That

276 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

TABLE 2

Categorical Occurrences of Black Female Stereotypes

Sexual Mammy Matriarch Siren \910s(N = 40 articles) Dispel Validate Total 1990s(N = 40 articles) Dispel Validate Total Welfare Mother or Queen Percentage of Total Occurrence

Total

2(4.8) 0 2(4.6)

23(54.8) 1 (50.0) 24(54.6)

5(11.9) 1 (50.0) 6(13.6)

12(28.6) 0 12(27.3)

42 2 44

95.5 4.6

8(13.8) 0 8(12.7)

16(27.6) 19(32.8) 2(40.0) 3(60.0) 18(28.6) 22(34.9)

15(25.9) 0 15(23.8)

58 5 63

92.1 7.9

NOTE:Gillespie was the editorof Essence in the 1970s. Taylorwas the editorof Essence in the 1990s. Numbersin parenthesesare percentageof occurrences, a. 1970s:N = 44. 1990s:N = 63.

is, no longer are a larger number of African American women forcedto eitherspendmoretime cleaningothers'homes or tending to others'childrenmorethantheirown for the purposeof surviving the economically.Furthermore, readers targeted Essence,upscale by Black women, are least likely of all Black women to contendwith the mammy stereotype on a daily basis. The mammy stereotype was addressedtwice in the 1970s andeight times duringthe 1990s, and the welfare mother or queen stereotype was referenced 12 times in the 1970s articlesexaminedand 15 times in the 1990s articles. Each referencemade to these stereotypeswas dispelled. that Continuingon a similarvein, it is understandable the matriarch stereotypewas addressedheavily duringboth the 1970s and the 1990s. Of all the stereotypesaddressed,the matriarch covwas ered most often duringthe 1970s and second most often duringthe 1990s. Strengthis considereda criterionneeded to succeed in the professionalworld. Yet women are often punishedfor having this charactertrait. Black women are doubly affected as their being strongcan also conjureup the negativematriarch image. Essence writers seem to be aware of the need to address and dispel this potentiallydamagingstereotype.However,no effortswere madeto

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 277

dispel severalreferencesto the matriarch stereotype.This oversight could indicate that Essence editors and writers, similar to many Black women, may struggleto separatethe positive and negative characteristics being a matriarch. of A differentpictureemerges for the sexual siren and matriarch stereotypes.The sexual sirenwas referencedonly five times during the 1970s; however,duringthe 1990s, it was the most referenced stereotype(n = 22). Of the 22 times the stereotypeappeared,three the referencessupported stereotype.Essence writers,it seems, are clearaboutthe damagingqualitiesof the mammyandwelfare very motheror queenstereotypes;however,thereseems to be less agreeand ment aboutthe matriarch sexual siren stereotypes. Perhapsthe inabilityto dispel the negativeimages of these stereotypesis a reflectionof the struggleBlack women in generalhave in sortingthroughthe conflictingpositive andnegativecharacteristics of the various stereotypes.Futurestudies in this area should of attemptto providea betterunderstanding whetherEssence porimage of its targetedpopulation'beliefs aboutthe traysa mirrored stereotypicalimages or whetherthe magazinehelps its readership to decide what elements of the stereotypes are acceptable or unacceptable. In general, these descriptivefindings of the study supportthe much-toutedidea that Essence is a feminist-orientedmagazine. Dispelling the stereotypesin such an overwhelmingfashion provides solid empiricalevidence thatEssence adheresto some of the basic tenetsof Black feminism.Essence stronglysupportsthe feminist principles of self-definition and the connection of everyday experiences to consciousness. But the findings also reveal that Essence is a very middle-class-orientedmagazine, and feminist principlescall for activismat all levels. The images of the mammy andwelfaremotheror queenarethe most workingclass of all of the stereotypes.These two images receive the least attentionthroughout the pages of Essence. The delicatebalancingact thatEssence performs,which allows it to be both a capitalisticventureand a voice for Black women, is

278 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

in apparent the resultsof this study.By focusing on featurestories of successful entertainers,discriminationin the workplace, and relationships,it tends to inform and entertainBlack women in the same way that White-orientedmagazines, such as Cosmopolitan It andLadiesHome Journal,informandentertain theirreadership. self-esteem and tells individual Black women how to promotes cope with work, their men, and so forth withoutpromptingactivism. Itplays into the Americandreamof individualism while ignoring the Black culturalideology thatvaluescommunity.It upliftsthe idea of the individualand individualachievementand downplays collective consciousness. That is, Essence ignores the many societal structuralissues that work against poor Black women. For in example,Essence coveredthe Million WomanMarch4 Philadelphia afterthe event occurredanddid nothingto promotethe march within its pages in the precedingmonths. Therearefew magazinestargeted directlytowardAfricanAmericans that are also owned and operated by African Americans. Quantitativeand qualitativestudies of these magazines are rare, and studiesaboutAfricanAmericanwomen andtheirmediausage are even more rare.More specifically, Rhodes (1993) reportsthat "womenof color often fall throughthe cracks,unless a deliberate effort is made to study them as subjects,audiences,and producers of mass communication." This is especially trueof "masscommunication research that has done little more than document the absenceof AfricanAmericanwomen in the media"(Rhodes, 1993, pp. 25-26). Thereis a greatneedfor further and studquantitative qualitative ies about Essence from the perspectives of readers,writers, and advertisers.For example, a quantitative comparisonof what readers were writing aboutin the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in lettersto the editors and of editorialletters to the readerswould give more insight into the issues of class and if the magazine's focus has changed over time. The list of possible studies is endless. This study takes a small step to begin researchthatfocuses on the mass media use of little-studieddiverse populationgroups.

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 279

NOTES
1. Bobo (1995) identifiesthe fourthcategoryas sexual siren,whereasCollins ( 1991) has named it the Black bitch or whore category.For the purposesof this project,we will use Bobo's namebecausethe mainstream imageof the Black womanas sexual sirenis a negative one thatdenotes bitch and whore. 2. Ruth Ross, Essence's first editor, was seen as being too vehemently Black for the Times. White investorsand White mainstream publications,such as Timeand the New York Taylor(1995) describes the former assistant editor at Newsweek as being "young, smart, sophisticated,and very much a race woman"(p. 33), a race man or woman being someone that devotedto endingthe oppressionof Black people. Timemagazinereported the firstissue of Essence was too stridentlymilitantand that"militancycarriesover even into featureson employmenttips, travel,and a kind of Black Joyce Brotherspsychiatriccolumn"("Black 1970, p. 80). The writersof Timepredictedthat "afterawhile, the young, urban, Venture," inquisitive,andacquisitiveBlack womanfor whom the magazineis intendedis going to get tired of being remindedof the long-standing,dehumanizingrape of the Black woman in America"("BlackVenture",1970, p. 80). Ross was asked to leave. Taylor(1995) says that saw media"apparently the magazineas a revolutionary the nationalmainstream organseeking to incite Black women to Mau Mau acts of ... who knows what"(p. 38). IdaLewis was the secondeditor.Beforecomingto workatEssence, she hadspentthe prefor vious 5 years in Parisas a reporter Life and as a freelancerafterthat.She was an experiPost and the freelancewriterwho had also workedfor the Washington enced international BBC (Taylor,1995, p. 41). Lewis stayedat Essence for a year,which she describesas being one of completechaos andnever-ending media, pressurethatcame from White mainstream investors,and Black men (besides the publishers): us I mean politics surrounded in every directionbecause you had people on the outside who had theirvision of what the Black woman should be. And it was the men who were the most vocal, as if it were up to them to mold this new effort. (Taylor, 1995, p. 41) She thendescribesa groupof Blackmenled by SonnyCarsonwho stormedintothe office andtriedto take over the magazineso thatthey could controlthe images being presentedto of andaboutBlack people (Taylor,1995, p. 46). AfterPlayboymagazineinvesteda quarter a million dollars,Lewis had to contendwith Bob Gutwillig, theirrepresentative, tryingto get herto betraythe Black men she workedfor (Taylor,1995, p. 43). She would not, and,aftera year of constantupheavaland stress, she left. MarciaAnn Gillespie was the thirdeditorbeginningin July of 1971. Before becoming the managingeditor of Essence, she was a researcherat Time-Life Books. She remained editor-in-chieffor almost 10 yearsand,underherdirection,the magazinetrulybeganto have a distinctvoice. She says, I wasn't interestedin whatotherwomen's magazinesdid, because women's magazineshave been developed for a whole otherkind of woman:one who hadnotcome upthroughslavery,one who hadnot hadto work,always work. as One who had not been independent Black women have been independent and on theirown. (Taylor, 1995, pp. 49-50) Taylor(1995) creditsGillespie with makingEssence "morerelevantto everydayBlack women"andfor makingit "arealservicepublication" 48). The legacy thatGillespie gave (p. Essence is "thatshe molded the magazineto reflect the interestof a broadcross section of

280 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER2005

Black women" (Taylor, 1995, p. 50). Part of the inclusiveness with which she gifted Essence's contentis because of Gillespie's decision to self-define as a feminist. She recalls felt thatdecision in InsideMs.: "Ihadreservations, morethana little intimidated the word by andall it meant," wrote. "Likemanywomen still are,I was morethana bit suspiciousof she the movementbecauseit seemed way too white andmuchtoo middle-classfor its or my own good" (Thorn,1997, p. 230). But she came to believe that this movementis the only truewelcome table. A revolutionary place where those who are of differentraces, cultures,abilities, and sexual orientations and who come from differentwalks of life can meet and be unafraidto disagree,dream,andstruggleto createa trulyjust world.(Thorn,1997, p. 230) It was at Essence that she first began to create such a place between the pages of a editorat Ms. In 1993, women's magazine.She left Essence in 1980 to become a contributing she became editor-in-chiefof Ms. Daryl Royster Alexanderwas next in the line of succession. She stayed 1 year before leaving to go write for the New YorkTimes. Thencame Essence's present-day queen,SusanTaylor.Taylorgot herstartat Essence as the beautyeditorin 197 1. Tayloris saidto epitomizewhatEssence andBlack womenarewith "herflawless mahoganycomplexionandher long cornrows,plaitedaway fromher face and braidedhairstyle), streamingdownpasthershoulders(she was a pioneerof this now-popular she cut a dramatically beautifulfigure"(Whitaker,1995, p. 83). Hermonthlycolumn,"Inthe Spirit,"(as opposed to Gillespie's "GettingDown") has even led to a book. 3. The race of the authorwas determinedby the way the authoridentifiedherselfwithin the text. 4. The Million WomanMarchwas Black women's answerto the Million ManMarchon D.C., which was orchestrated Black men who requestedthatBlack women Washington, by stay at home.

REFERENCES
Black venture.(1970, May 4). Time,pp. 79-80. Bobo, J. (1995). Black womenas culturalreaders.New York:ColumbiaUniversityPress. Collins, P. (1990). Blackfeminist thought:Knowledge,consciousness, and the politics of New York:Routledge. empowerment. Essence magazine media kit, 30th Anniversary[Brochure].(2000). New York:Essence magazine. feminist Guy-Sheftall,B. (Ed.). (1995). Wordsof fire: An anthology of African-American thought.New York:New Press. Hall, S. ( 1990). The whites of theireyes: Racist ideologies andthe media.In M. Alvarado& J. O. Thompson(Eds.), The media reader(pp. 7-23). London:BritishFilm Institute. hooks, b. ( 198 1). Ain 't I a woman? Boston: South End. hooks, b. (1989). Talkingback: Thinking feminist, thinkingBlack.Boston: South End. Jewell, K. S. (1993). Frommammyto Miss Americaand beyond:Culturalimages and the shaping of U.S. social policy. New York:Routledge.

Woodard,Mastin/ BLACK WOMANHOOD 28 1

Matabane,P. (1989). Strategiesfor researchon Black women and mass communication.In P. J. Creedon (Ed.), Womenin mass communication: Challenging gender values (pp. 117-122). NewburyPark,CA: Sage. the Rhodes,J. ( 1993). Fallingthrough cracks:Studyingwomenof color in masscommunication. In P. J. Creedon(Ed.), Women mass communication in (pp. 24-31). NewburyPark, CA: Sage. faith of Pauli Murray. Essence, 8, 91-1 10. Scarupa,H. J. (1977). The extraordinary In Taylor,S. (1995). Introduction. A. Edwards(Ed.), Essence; 25 years celebratingBlack women(pp. 23-58). New York:Abrams. Thorn,M. (1997). Inside Ms. New York:HenryHolt. U.S. Census Bureau.(2000). The Black populationin the United States. RetrievedOctober 30, 2000, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/p20-530.pdf 's C. Whitaker, (1995). Essence. In K. L. Endres& T. L. Lueck (Eds.), Women periodicals in the UnitedStates: Consumermagazines(pp. 79-86). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

is JenniferBailey Woodard an assistant professor in the Departmentof Electronic Her researchinterests at Media Communication MiddleTennesseeState University. includereceptionstudiesof AfricanAmericanwomenand theirmediause, imagesof AfricanAmericansin the media, and culturalandfeminist analysis of media. Teresa Mastinis an assistantprofessorin the Department Advertisingat Michigan of State University.Her researchincludesAfricanAmericansportrayals in the mass media;mass media issues as a function of race, class, and gender;factors influenc' ing AfricanAmericans civic andpolitical participation;and women's and minority ' magazines advertisingand editorial content.