African American Women Beauty & Marketing, presentation of AAW and their relations with social pressure concerning beauty. A thesis by J.L.Kraemer. Download: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281452955_African_American_Women_Beauty_and_Marketing

1. African American Women,
Beauty and Marke5ng
A research work by J.L.Kraemer

2. African American Women
An image inherited from antebellum 5mes:
• Commodified: a produc5on factor which could
be bought, sold and disposed of. Expected to
be submissive and available.
Three nega5ve stereotypes:
• Mammy: the unaHrac5ve nurturing maid
• Jezebel: the manipula5ve all-5me temptress
• Sapphire: the dominant angry black woman

3. African American Women
stereotypes: Mammy

4. African American
Women
stereotypes:
Jezebel

5. African American Women
stereotypes: Sapphire or the ABW
(Angry Black Woman)

6. African American Women
Stereotypes: the Welfare Queen
This stereotype views black women as unwilling to work,
unwilling to control their sex drive and unwilling to beHer
themselves, as living comfortably on welfare, bringing up a big
family without a husband, with children from different fathers.
(Abagond)

7. African American Women
in arts, adver5sing and media

8. African American Women
in arts, adver5sing and media
Most oPen:
Sidekicks,
objec5fied,
Sexploited,
Overexposed,
or
Whitewashed
to conform to
white ideals,
…

9. Iden5ty: being an
African American Woman
• Black, American and
Woman
• Colorism (shadeism) and
mixed races: black or
blackish? Mochas and
Oreos: tragic mulaHos
• Self percep5on: black
women are thicker and
have a beHer body image,
a good self-esteem:
posi5ve against all odds

10. • Double jeopardy: being a woman
in a male dominated world, being
black in a whites world.
• Couple rela5ons: strong woman
who doesn’t need a husband
(educated, endogamous and
black superwoman syndrome?)
• Racism, sexism, feminism and
ac5vism: from defensive to
proac5ve
• More adverse job dynamics and
living condi5ons
African American
Women Social Issues:
figh5ng adversity

11. African American Women and Beauty
• Beauty is the eye of the
beholder, then in the mirror
• A social construct,
corresponding to a (global)
culture, but with universal
constants
• Beauty and social place:
beauty is defined by the
place granted to women;
beauty defines social place
• “Flawless”: perfec5on
requested (but unaHainable)

12. African American Women, Beauty
Ideals and the Media
Ideal models, mainstream compulsory references:
• « You Shall Be » young, thin, fair skinned
• Barbies, models, pageant contenders, playboy
pinups, cheerleaders, fitness addicts…
• Perfect…ly airbrushed (and whitewashed if dark
skinned)
Photoshopping models for fake
« perfec5on »

13. African American Women, Beauty
Ideals and the Media
Whitewashing
Lupita Nyong’o

14. African American Women and beauty
pressure
Groomed beauty:
beauty is only skin
deep, so you must
use cosme5cs,
diet, exercise and
take care of your
hair if you want it
to be « good hair »

16. African American Beauty
The doll test :
• Which one is
the bad doll?
• Which one
looks like you?

17. African American Beauty
A defini5on of black beauty?

18. • Black beauty and consequences:
High spending on cosme5cs, hair care products and
(some5mes low cost) surgery
African American Beauty

19. African American Women:
black success and role models

20. African American Women:
black success and role models
Misty Copeland,
not (just) a model:
a role model

21. African American Women:
black success and role
models

22. Marke5ng beauty to
African American Women
• From principles to strategies: find
a customer’s need and the
product to sa5sfy it
• Marke5ng beauty to women:
women already have beauty
needs, create (frustra5ons)
wants, you will have demand and
profit
• Knowing the market of black
beauty: know your target so you
will know what they will buy and
how to address them
• Marke5ng black beauty: convince
them that you bring solu5ons to
their specific needs and issues. Be
a black company (or subsidiary)

23. African American Women,
Marke5ng and Business
Exploited or empowered?
• Selling (through) some outdated
and inacceptable image of
commodifica5on and
sexploita5on of black women?
• Selling self assump5on, self
esteem and a good body image?
• Selling some kind of social
acceptability?
• Exploi5ng their needs, complexes
and hangups to make a lot of
money and some5mes sell crap?

24. African American Women,
Beauty and Marke5ng: Conclusions
« The theory of marke5ng is solid but the
prac5ce of marke5ng leaves much to be
desired ». Philip Kotler

25. ABSTRACT
This research work ques5ons several main themes of the American society and way of
life; the importance of beauty in social integra5on, and the impact of marke5ng in this
pursuit, but more generally the role and place of African American women in the USA
today, from a mainstream culture made with and partly by marke5ng and the media,
to a mul5cultural way of life involving minori5es and ambivalent in terms of a high
social pressure to conform to beauty (among other) standards, but on the other hand
stronger claims of self assump5on and demands of difference acceptance.

26. ABSTRACT
African American women suffer from an undervalued image, and endure more
adverse condi5ons; they have to face the double jeopardy of being women in a
male dominated society and black in a predominantly white one. They do not
correspond to all western mainstream beauty standards imposed by marke5ng and
media in a world running on appearances and stereotypes. This creates frustra5ons
and needs, and black women are compelled to spend a lot on beauty and hair care
products to aHain general acceptance as well as a good self-esteem. The other way
around, we also can consider that marke5ng and media may play a posi5ve role, by
offering the informa5on and products needed to aHain their objec5ves of social
integra5on and maintaining their iden5ty.

27. Disserta5on Presented by Jean L. KRAEMER
In par5al fulfilment of the requirements of a Master's Degree
Directed by Professor Alain GEOFFROY
August 2015
Download at:
hHps://www.researchgate.net/publica5on/
281452955_African_American_Women_Beauty_and_Marke5ng