Dear bajanboy,
How come there are so many single African American women?
The magazine "Ebony"
(<http://www.ebony.com/ME2/Audiences/default.asp>, Archived since 1998
at Look Smart's Find Articles, EBONY
<http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1077/mag.jhtml>)deals with the
issue often. Some of their explanations are similar to those you've
mentioned, but it would be simplistic to view theories such as the one
you wrote about as completely through.
There is a combination of elements that might contribute to the
situation of single African American women. First of all, cultural
upbringing, or some conventions such as the ones you read, could be an
explanation.
But this is not a single explanation, as in life, most phenomena have
more than one element. For example, there are several socio-economic
factors that play against Black women: there is a disproportional
percent of African American men who are incarcerated, not
professional/college graduates, unemployed. This usually doesn't fit
the expectations of a young professional Black woman.
On the other hand, man from the "right" socio-economic background,
might be less reluctant to date women who are not African American,
unlike cultural conventions that indicate to young women, that they
are "supposed" to marry a Black man.
The Site SistahSpace quotes several statistics:
"In 1990, more than half of all Black women from the ages of 25 to 29
and 35 percent from 30 to 34 had never married. That's more than twice
the rate for White women, according to the Census of Bureau.
* The number of Black men enrolled in college in the last 10 years
decreased by 5 percent, while Black women's enrolment grew by 7
percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
* Black men age 20 and older face a 13 percent unemployment rate -
almost twice that of White men. In addition, of all Black men in the
labour force, only 13 percent held professional and managerial jobs,
compared with 20 percent of Black women.
* Homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American boys
from age 15 to 19. One in four Black men in their 20s, the prime
marrying decade, is behind bars, on probation or on parole.
* The African-American community paid a disproportionately high price
in Vietnam War, where one out of five servicemen was Black. Many of
those men would have been marriage prospects today.
* Seven out of 10 interracial marriages in 1990 were between Black men
and White women." (Source: SistahSpace, "Black women losing dating
game", <http://www.sistahspace.com/nommo/ir28.html>).
Recommended Further Reading
===========================
Getting Good Loving: How Black Men and Women Can Make Love Work
by Audrey B. Chapman
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345402456/qid=1069420560/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-8949723-4541727?v=glance&n=507846>
- Chapman is one of the advocates of the "Black man want mamma, not a
strong Sister" theory, but there are also other sociological and
practical observations in her book, which was probably a bit reduced
in the article. Of course, from your point as a woman (and written by
a Black woman), and it wouldn't hurt if men will read such books once
in a while...
10 Bad Choices That Ruin Black Women's Lives
by Grace Cornish <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609801333/ref=pd_sxp_elt/102-8949723-4541727?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance>
- this book is important, also because it tells you not to sacrifice
everything for a relationship, only because it seems to you - from
superficial observation - to be "right" (say, an African American
lawyer, who looks like Denzel Washington). In other words , not only
how to find what you need, but also how to avoid grief.
The Sistahs' Rules : Secrets For Meeting, Getting, And Keeping A Good
Black Man Not To Be Confused With The Rules by Denene Millner
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688156894/ref=pd_sim_books_2/102-8949723-4541727?v=glance&s=books>
- You probably heard of the "rules". Here is a guide on getting, and
keeping, a Black man.
NiaOnline Presents... Real Love With Dr. Jeff: "The Nicer White
Woman--Myth or Reality?"
<http://www.niaonline.com/NiaLD/NewDesign/homepage_channel/homepage_article/0,2011,2542,00.html>
- this advice columnist has several reassuring advices.
Black women bemoan shortage of black men in college
By Megan Scott <http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/033102/LOCBlackMenShortage.shtml>
- this article explains it almost in free-market terms: too many
single Black women in college, competing over too few Black college
students, who - reactively - allow themselves to act like a "rare
item".
I hope this answered your question. In order to find these interesting
articles, I searched the web for combinations of the terms "black
women" (or African American women) and "single".
Please contact me if you need any clarification on this answer before
you tip/rate it. |
