Ch8. Black Girls’ Bodies and Belonging in the Classroom
Brittney Miles is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Cincinnati, where she is an Albert C. Yates fellow. She has completed a graduate certificate in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and an MA in Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. She also holds an MEd in Social and Cultural Foundations in Education from DePaul University. Her scholarship centers Black girlhood, specifically in the areas of sexuality, disability, and embodiment. Within her research, she employs a strength-based approach to critical Black feminist examinations of social problems. She is the co-author (with A. Linders et al) of “The Sounds of Executions: Sonic Flaws and the Transformation of Capital Punishment” (American Journal of Cultural Sociology, 2022).
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Through critical examination of mis/interpretations of Black girls’ bodies in school settings, this chapter interrogates readings and performances of Black talk, Black sass, and Black volume. A symbolic interactionist approach to interpreting meanings of Black girls’ bodies allows us to contextualize the subsequent corporeal and material negotiations they make as they navigate misogynoir and controlling images. There are perpetual inconsistencies between meanings about Black girls’ bodies that are ascribed to them and those that are self-defined by them. While Black girls are socialized into meanings about their bodies defined by others (these include negative stereotypes such as the “sapphire” that attempt to define and control what it means to be a “loud” as opposed to “quiet” Black girl), they use embodied reverse discourse and other body projects to craft alternative meanings that complicate such tropes. Ontologies of Black-girl being call us to consider how—through body projects, dress code responses, and sonic performances—Black girls pursue presence and autonomy. Their efforts challenge us to more deeply and comprehensively make space for them in educational spaces where they are on the margins.
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For updates from the author and access to supplemental materials (interviews, podcasts, syllabi, etc.) when they are made available, please visit Chapter 8.
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