Race and gender: Challenges and alternatives to characterizing African American women in social research studies.

摘要

Henry Louis Gates, Jr discusses the "burden of representation" American society has placed upon African American's. Patricia Hill Collins expands on that theme, arguing that African American women are portrayed within the confines of one of four "controlling images." The use of the biological traits of race and sex to determine social group membership reflect the history of racial and sexual oppression that have disadvantaged black women in the endeavor to create their own social images. Social research design and methodology reinforce these controlling images, supporting their existence and perpetuating the mechanisms that maintain status quo. This thesis challenges these research methods, and proposes a postmodern approach to the design and conduct of social research. This methodological change can help reduce the stereotyping that results from the use of biology as a basis for social group classifications. It will enhance the relevance and accuracy of social research.