The Problem

For centuries, dominant artistic practices actively diminished Black women’s humanity and existence. This visual violence was achieved through institutional mechanisms like the erasure and whitewashing of powerful figures, such as the Ethiopian Princess Andromeda and the Queen of Sheba, because “blackness and beauty… was dichotomous” for many Western artists. Most damagingly, art and popular media deployed racist stereotypes that functioned as social control mechanisms used to enforce subservient behaviour and dehumanise Black women. This website examines that history through the visual archive of misogynoir, focusing on the hyper-sexualized Jezebel, the desexualized and servile Mammy, and the aggressive Sapphire. The special relevance of this topic lies in understanding misogynoir, the specific intersectional prejudice directed toward Black women.

Project Thesis

This research reveals a clear and deliberate correlation between the historical extreme objectification present in these stereotypes and the contemporary artistic shift towards nuanced, complex, and highly individualized self-portraits. Today, Black women are “redefining the canon in real time”, using their art as a vital mechanism for promoting intersectionality and reclaiming agency from these distorted narratives.