The Role of Leisure in the Dehumanization of Black Girlhood: Egypt’s story

With recent reports highlighting the dehumanization of Black girls, the authors attempt to deconstruct the relationship between the racialized gendered oppression they experience and their use of leisure to practice and perform resistance and agency using narrative ethnography. The reality of oppression in the lives of Black girls shows the complex ways dehumanization becomes part of the Black girlhood experience. As we look into the role of leisure within the complexities of Black girlhood, our epistemological views inform our understanding of how Black girls navigate, endure, and resist against multiple systems of oppression. Using Black feminist theory as a guide, this research study examined how one Black girl, Egypt, adopted the use of performance art to practice resistance and agency. The authors hope that future research will consider the oppression, agency, and resistance that exist within the lives of Black girls.