Intersectionalism sets up a whole new world of struggles for females of color but one of the most difficult is young girls of color navigating their identity. Being a black female is, in a sense, being a small fish in a big pond, especially for young girls. From an early age, young girls start developing their own identity, beliefs, and view about themselves and others. It is exponential more difficult for girls of color during this time of development due to the fact “African-American female adolescents have unique identity issues and are constantly negotiating issues of race and gender in a society that is dominated by White male perspective” (Carter 97). “Each girl carries multiple social identities – racial, ethnic, gender, and class –
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According to the 2016 SAT scores, black females fall behind in all subjects compared to their male counterparts and female racial counterparts. In the Math portion, Black males received an average of 430 while black females received a 422, an 8-point difference. Other females of different ethnicity received scores ranging from 590-441, scores all above the black female. This issues seems to be especially prevalent in teenage girls of color, “in the 12th grade, 70% of Black girls scored below basic level requirements in mathematics,” but it seems to start from a very young age. (French et al. 3).Black girls are obviously struggling academically but many try to dilute their struggle, “over the last 20 years most of the literature on Black girls presents a mythologized discourse” (Patton et al 194). The idea “which suggests [Black women and girls] are ‘okay’ because they are far better off than Black boys,” continues to resonate within society at the cost of Black women’s and girl’s education and overall success. Yes, it might seem that Black women and girls are excelling beyond their racial counterparts but most evidence tends to say otherwise. Besides the statistics seen in the 2016 SAT, “National Women’s Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s titled Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Educational
According to the 2016 SAT scores, black females fall behind in all subjects compared to their male counterparts and female racial counterparts. In the Math portion, Black males received an average of 430 while black females received a 422, an 8-point difference. Other females of different ethnicity received scores ranging from 590-441, scores all above the black female. This issues seems to be especially prevalent in teenage girls of color, “in the 12th grade, 70% of Black girls scored below basic level requirements in mathematics,” but it seems to start from a very young age. (French et al. 3).Black girls are obviously struggling academically but many try to dilute their struggle, “over the last 20 years most of the literature on Black girls presents a mythologized discourse” (Patton et al 194). The idea “which suggests [Black women and girls] are ‘okay’ because they are far better off than Black boys,” continues to resonate within society at the cost of Black women’s and girl’s education and overall success. Yes, it might seem that Black women and girls are excelling beyond their racial counterparts but most evidence tends to say otherwise. Besides the statistics seen in the 2016 SAT, “National Women’s Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s titled Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Educational