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4 J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 864 (1976-1977)
Debunking Sapphire: Toward a Non-Racist and Non-Sexist Social Science

handle is hein.journals/jrlsasw4 and id is 864 raw text is: DEBUNKING SAPPHIRE: TOWARD A NON-RACIST AND NON-SEXIST SOCIAL SCIENCE Patricia Bell Scott Black Studies Program and Department of Child and Family Studies The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Introduction The term Sapphire is frequently used to describe an age-old image of Black women. The caricature of the dominating, emasculating Black woman is one which historically has saturated both the popular and scholarly literature. The purpose of this paper is debunk the Sapphire caricature as it has been projected in American social science. By exposing the racist and sexist underpinnings of this stereotype, it is hoped that more students and scholars might be sensitized and encouraged to contribute to the development of a non- racist and non-sexist social science. The novice to the subject of Black Women's Studies generally en- counters feelings of frustration and aggravation, as she or he begins to explore the literature in quest of more knowledge relevant to the experience of being Black and female in America. One is almost over- whelmed with the depth and extent of the intellectual void that exists among social science scholars concerning the life experiences of Black women. Those persons who somehow manage to endure the frustrations involved in unearthing bits and pieces of data about Black women are further acerbated by the following observations: 1. Despite the fact that Black women have always played important roles in American society, they have been almost totally ignored by students of American society and human behavior. From reading the literature, one might easily develop the impression that Black women have never played any role in this society, and that they represent only a minute percentage of the total American population. 2. The experiences of Black women in both a historical and contemporary sense have been discussed from a very narrow perspective. Their lives have been examined from a problems framework. As a result of this approach, the student begins to see the experiences of Black women as being limited in nature, and certainly in no way a comparison to the life and times of great White man. -864-

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