The “Strong Black Woman Collective”: A Developing Theoretical Framework for Understanding Collective Communication Practices of Black Women

The “Strong Black Woman” ideal is a long-established image in U.S. society placing pressures on Black American women to maintain a façade of strength, self-sufficiency, and resilience. This article advances the Strong Black Woman Collective (SBWC) as a developing standpoint framework for analyzing the complexities associated with embodiment, communication, and regulation of strength among groups of Black women. While reinforcing such behaviors as a collective enables resistance against racial-gendered oppression and validates Black womanhood, it may also impede sharing vulnerability and emotionality.