Blog Post #5

Within the Chapman article it discusses different challenges that arise in the Black community when looking for a partner. One of the challenges was the stereotype that men and women have. If we can somehow change how Black men and women are perceive then perhaps that ratio of African American marriages will go up. Another issue that was brought up was that the divorce rate within the African American marriages is higher then in the white community. Because of this there should be marriage counseling that is geared towards Black married couples. Lastly there is a big shortage of males due to incarceration or early death. To bring the ratio of males to females up early intervention should be implemented when the males are in their youth or adolescents.

While reading the Bethea article it talks about different stereotypes that were also presented in the chapman article. It talked about how African American males are seen as being lazy while the females are seen as being hostile and demanding. Because of these stereotypes men and women are hesitant to marry one another in fears that the relationship will not last or that they would not be a fit father/mother.

What mama couldn’t teach us about love handout talks about anti-intimacy beliefs that can be related back to the legacy of slavery. One of these beliefs is that “I’m not good enough to be loved”. This idea comes from when slavers were not seen as human beings basically and were not cared for properly physically and emotionally. Another belief was “I’ll lose any one who gets close to me”. During slavery many individuals were torn away from their families. Because of this you did not want to get close to anyone who can possibly taken away from you.

When reading the results from the Hammond article the top tow themes that came about from the data were responsibility (accountability) and autonomy. When I saw this article I thought it was strange that providing- waymaking was third and not first on the list. Many different males I have talked to say the main thing they want to do for their family is to provide for them. So seeing that not on the top of the list did intrigue me.