Black women’s voices are infrequently theoretically centered in health literatures about how they experience and co-create their health, and it is even rarer for Black girls to be taken into account as reliable knowers. Black Women’s Health explores the real-life meanings and everyday practices of health (i.e., mental, physical, emotional, and sexual) for the African American mothers and daughters whose narratives comprise the research. The book draws from extensive fieldwork and focus groups conducted with African American mothers and their adolescent daughters ages 12–18 in North Carolina in ... More

Black women’s voices are infrequently theoretically centered in health literatures about how they experience and co-create their health, and it is even rarer for Black girls to be taken into account as reliable knowers. Black Women’s Health explores the real-life meanings and everyday practices of health (i.e., mental, physical, emotional, and sexual) for the African American mothers and daughters whose narratives comprise the research. The book draws from extensive fieldwork and focus groups conducted with African American mothers and their adolescent daughters ages 12–18 in North Carolina in their discussions about health, sexuality, intimacy, and transitions to “womanhood” in a variety of contexts. In this case, micro-theory draws on multiple concepts to reveal patterns of intergenerational health practices and communication. The methodological framework draws from a Black feminist and intersectional theoretical orientation to situate Black women’s and girls’ health. Black Women’s Health is thus the first scholarly book to treat the health status of African American mothers and daughters as integrally linked. Black Women’s Health probes the various ways in which African American mothers discuss vital issues with their daughters, and how their daughters co-construct, interpret, and resist maternal and cultural narratives of health, sexuality, and racial identity. These direct accounts highlight how African American women and girls navigate their health and intimate relationships, as well as the various health disparities rooted in the racism, sexism, and class marginality they experience.