Graduation Semester and Year

2018

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

First Advisor

Penelope Ingram

Abstract

This thesis explores the correlation between racialized representations of Black women with the disparities in the level of healthcare they receive and the resulting outcomes. I argue racialized representations of Black women throughout history and into the modern-era compromise Black women’s obstetrical care, affect their reproductive freedom, and contribute to their disproportionately higher maternal mortality rates. By citing pivotal historical events and the resulting racialized tropes from the antebellum, reconstruction, and civil rights time-periods, I identify the modern-era manifestations of those representations. Using theoretical lenses associated with Black Feminist Theory, Intersectionality, and Scripting, I analyze how historically racialized representations of Black women rhetorically position their bodies at the center of reproductive freedom debates. I corroborate my argument by presenting empirical data concerning Black women’s reproductive-related disparities. Lastly, I juxtapose the empirical data with the historically racialized representations scripted onto Black women’s bodies to draw the long claim, arguing that racism, in general, and implicit bias, specifically within the medical community, are a direct result of the scripting of Black women’s bodies with historically racialized representations, which are huge factors contributing to Black women’s compromised obstetrical care.

Keywords

Racialized representations, Obstetrical care, Reproductive freedom, Maternal mortality, Intersectional feminism

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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