Skip to main content

The Black Woman Growing Up

  • Chapter
The Woman Patient

Part of the book series: Women in Context: Development and Stresses ((WICO))

  • 89 Accesses

Abstract

George Segal,1 in a painterly reflection on mood, addressed his near obsession with human identity, saying, “I could establish an identity in solid plaster, but could make it slide by changing colors. By choosing different colors I can run the gamut of the way I feel.” Therein he also touched the haunting theme in the developing self-image of a black woman, where the feature of color clouds all the rest in its importance in identity formation. Skin color inherently carries a complex social meaning for both observer and owner. Yet, what Segal has cogently depicted in his technique is the very separateness of person and color.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Segal G: Sculpture Exhibition, Whitney Museum, New York, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Powdermaker H: The channeling of Negro aggression by the cultural process, in Personality in nature, society and culture (2nd ed.). Edited by Kluckhohn C, Murray HA. New York, Knopf, 1953.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Brody EB: Color and identity conflict in young boys: Observations of Negro mothers and sons in urban Baltimore, Psychiatry 26 (2): 188–201, May 1963.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Brody EB: Color and identity conflict in young boys. H: Observations of white mothers and sons in urban Baltimore. Archives of General Psychiatry April 10, 1964, 354–360.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Clark K: Prejudice and your child ( 2nd ed. ). Boston, Beacon Press, 1963.

    Google Scholar 

  6. McDonald M: Not by the color of their skin. New York, International Universities Press, 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hauser ST: Black and white identity development: Aspects and perspectives, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 1 (2): 113–130, 1972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Freud S: The interpretation of dreams. New York, Science Editions, 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Baldwin J: Notes of a native son. Boston, Beacon Press, 1955.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lacy LA: The rise and fall of a proper Negro: An autobiography. New York, Macmillan, 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Morrison T: Song of Solomon. New York, Knopf, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Prange A, Vitols M: Cultural aspects of the relatively low incidence of depression in Southern Negroes. International Journal of Soc. Psychiatry 5: 104–112, 1962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Halpern F: Personal communication. 1976

    Google Scholar 

Supplementary Reading

  • Brickner RP: My second twenty years: An unexpected life. New York, Basic Books, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson EH: Childhood and society. New York, Norton, 1950.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson EH: Identity, youth and crisis. New York, Norton, 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern F: Survival black/white. New York, Pergamon Press, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • King SH: Five lives at Harvard: Personality change during college. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolb L: The role of identification in the achievement of goals, The working papers of the 1975 Conference on Education of Psychiatrists. Edited by Busse E, Sussex JN. American Psychiatric Association, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kvaraceus WC, Gibson TS, Patterson FK, Seasholes B, Grambs JD: Negro self-concept implications for school and citizenship. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paykel E, et al: Treatment setting and clinical depression, Archives of General Psychiatry 22 (1): 1 - 21, 1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Persell CH: Education and inequality. New York, Free Press, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell GJ: Black Mondays children. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittenberg R: Postadolescence, theoretical and clinical aspects of psychoanalytic therapy. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1968.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1982 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Zimmerman, V.H. (1982). The Black Woman Growing Up. In: Nadelson, C.C., Notman, M.T. (eds) The Woman Patient. Women in Context: Development and Stresses. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9242-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9242-6_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-9244-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-9242-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics