Black warrior woman stereotype
A growing number of SF works have portrayed strong, warrior-like women of African heritage. This is not unproblematic: While we can celebrate the growth in images of strong, active, women of color, we can also interrogate how much the characters generally, and whether some characters in particular, rely on racial stereotypes or race-based ideologies in drawing the character.
For instance, a female warrior character may be described as Black or African in order to make her appear even more extreme than a female warrior, relying on stereotyped views of Africans and Black people as primitive, violent, highly athleticized, and so on.
Likewise, an African or Black character may be turned into more of a warrior woman figure, again out of (or playing on) the sense that Black people are inherently violent or physically strong.
Questions of exoticism, eroticism, the male gaze, and the "white gaze" may also be raised. Are white male authors particularly prone to making Black women characters also warriors, or female warriors also Black? If so, what does that mean-- are they doing it because they have more privilege to stretch readers' and publishers' boundaries, or are they doing it out of their own racism or as a form of cultural appropriation? When does it matter what the author's motivations are?
And are these characters disproportionately lesbian? (not that there's anything wrong with that.) Writer choices to make a Black woman warrior also a lesbian may be a means of exoticizing them, making them seem more "other", more fearsome, or even more readily identifiable-with by the male reader/viewer.
Comparing the images of warrior women across ethnicity, culture, and race could lead to some fruitful insights.
On the other hand, a kick-ass woman of color is to be welcomed in a very friendly fashion.
Relevant Works & Characters
- "Strange Days" (dir. Kathryn Bigelow) - character played by Angela Bassett
- Steve Perry Matadora
- S. M. Stirling's Nantucket series
- John Varley's Gaia trilogy, Titan, Demon, Wizard
- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer (created by Joss Whedon) - Kendra
- Storm in The X-Men (Ororo Munro)
- "Firefly" (created by Joss Whedon) - Zoe