Abstract
The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of the intersection of racism and sexism held by the participants and its effect upon the psychological health and well-being of African American women. The aim of the study was also to explore the coping strategies these women employed when faced with interlocking oppressions of racism and sexism. Furthermore, the study explored the impact of intragroup discrimination in the lived experiences of African American women. Qualitative methodology was used to holistically capture the accounts of the participants as well as to empower them to detail their experiences of the interlocking oppressions of racism and sexism. Participants included 16 self-identified African American women who resided in Southern California. Participant's ages ranged from 29 to 94. Content analysis was utilized to examine the data from sixteen semi-structured interviews which involved a categorization of emergent themes, categories, and subthemes. This study revealed four major themes and several subthemes including: (1) perceptions of the intersection of racism and sexism (e.g., workplace, school setting, and public setting/service related setting), (2) challenges experienced by African American women (e.g., relationships with Black men and negative stereotypes imposed on African American women), (3) intragroup discrimination (e.g., discrimination based on phenotypic characteristics) and (4) effects upon psychological health and well-being (e.g., internal/external coping strategies). This study suggests that African American women continue to be directly impacted by both the intersection and the isolated forces of racism and sexism. However, it appears as though the participant's decision to distinguish between racism, sexism, and the intersection was situational therefore it was inconsistent across each setting and experience. This study also suggests that discrimination against African American women is not only an issue outside of the Black community but also within. The findings clearly showed that internal resources were commonly used to cope with the impact of racism and/or sexism. Limitations and clinical implications of the study are discussed, as are recommendations for future research.