"There's the Black Woman Thing, and There's the Age Thing": Professional Black Women on the Downsides of "Black Don't Crack" and Strategies for Confronting Ageism at Work
Abstract
This article problematizes the concept of "Black Don't Crack" and challenges the universal desirability of youthfulness. This study is driven by two research questions: (1) How does the perceived youthfulness of professional Black workers shape their subjective experience of workplace interactions? and (2) What strategies do Black workers use to assert their expertise and legitimacy when confronted with prejudicial attitudes and interactions based on perceptions about their age? Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews with professional Black women who are perceived as younger than they actually are, this article describes Black women's experiences with ageism and their specific strategies for combating age bias in the workplace. The focus of this study diverges from most ageism studies focused on bias against older adults. Rather, this article contributes to our understanding of how gendered racism and ageism intersect when Black women's chronological ages differ from how they are perceived.
Repository Citation
Smith-Tran, Alicia. 2023. "'There's the Black Woman Thing, and There's the Age Thing': Professional Black Women on the Downsides of 'Black Don't Crack' and Strategies for Confronting Ageism at Work." Sociological Perspectives 66(3): 419-433.
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Publication Date
6-1-2023
Publication Title
Sociological Perspectives
Department
Sociology
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/07311214221139441
Keywords
Aging and the life course, Race, Gender, Class, Racial and ethnic minorities, Sex and gender, Organizations, Occupations, Work
Language
English
Format
text
