I found this last blog post to be very difficult to write. I felt like I talked about some of the most important things that I think about in my previous post. So instead of writing about a topic that I’m not very passionate about, I decided that I would just talk about how I am feeling and hope that someone reading this could relate.

My relationship with my body is complicated to say the least. I cannot even think of the number of times I have wished for my body to be different. Like many others, I have struggled with being happy with what I see when I look in the mirror. I may be happy with this part here or even most of it some days, but I’ve never achieved 100% happiness with my own body. Sometimes I feel guilty for not loving my body. It supports me, it ensures my health, and acts as a vessel for my consciousness. When I find issues with it I wonder if I am taking what I’ve been blessed with for granted. Then I start to think about how my body could be better. I could have a flatter stomach, a bigger chest, I could be taller, have less fat on my body, etc. When I start to have these thoughts I try my hardest to be more accepting of myself and my body.

My relationship with body influences my relationship with other aspects of my life including food, clothes, and exercise. When I think of the foods that I am about to consume, I think of how that will cause my stomach to grow, how this will influence my weight, and overall appearance. A similar flood of thoughts occurs when considering to exercise. My relationship with my body then alters the clothes I feel comfortable wearing and what I feel confident in. These questions are constantly flooding my mind and to be honest it is VERY EXHAUSTING. Constantly thinking about how I look and how I feel about how I look can be mentally tiring. The older I get, the harder I work to be happy with the body that I have. Although I catch myself looking at how flat my stomach looks when I walk past the mirror, I try to remember that how it looks today, tomorrow, or the next should not have any impact on my happiness in relation to my body. It has become more important to me than ever to love my body no matter what it looks like and make changes based on bettering my health not my overall appearance.

An interracial relationship is when two persons of different races are in a relationship with each other. Interracial relationships has a colorful history that has impacted society in a variety of ways. It has become an increasing common type of relationship that was previously been deterred, frowned-upon, and even criminalized at certain points. Although today’s society has become more accepting towards interracial relationships, there are several ways in which interracial relationships are still seen as wrong.

One of the most commonly discussed and scrutinized types of interracial relationships is that between African Americans and white Americans. Due to the terrible history of racism and the perpetuation of the idea that Africans/African Americans were inferior to white Americans, it became increasingly more important to deter relations between the two races due to the belief in innate differences between the two. Although it is known that race is a social construct and has no biological merit, it has real social implications that impact everyday life and relationships. This can be seen in cases such as Loving v Virginia where banning interracial marriage was finally eradicated in from the law in 1967. The fact that banning interracial marriage was not removed until 1967 showed how important it was in society to keep race relations to a minimum.

The social implications of race still played a significant role in interracial relationships after interracial marriage was legalized. Although it was legally recognized, it was still socially frowned upon. As the United States became increasingly more progressive, the idea of interracial relationships increasingly became more acceptable. However, there are still factors impact these types of relationships including ideas of colorism, becoming a “traitor to your own people”, and the fundamental ideas of racism that has still permeated society despite the social acceptability of interracial relationships.

As an African American woman in an interracial relationship, I have become increasingly more aware of the impact society can have on a relationship. Situations such as being stared at when going out or feeling like I must defend my relationship to others has become something that I have noticed as a part of my relationship. Although race is not a factor to me and has no standing in my relationship, society has created factors that have inevitably made it a part of my relationship. Interracial relationships have become more common in society, but the negative feelings have not disappeared.

The Angry Black Woman Stereotype has been a longstanding prejudice against African American women in American society. The Angry Black Woman stereotype is a bias against black women who show any emotion relating to being upset, irritated, or angry. Although on the surface this stereotype can seem relatively harmless, when looking deeper at the root of the stereotype and the lasting effects it can have on the emotional vulnerability of African American women it can be quite damaging.

Anger is a natural part of life. Every person gets angry at some point in their life. Someone getting enraged does not seem like it would be a big deal There are many situations in a person life that would make them upset. Some African Americans have other things they must consider before getting angry including:

1. How will I be perceived by the others around me?
2. Will I be thought of as belligerent and uncontrollable?
3. Will I be seen as a threat?

These questions are not the only things that some African American women wrestle with before getting angry. Another thing that must be considered is the emotional tolls that the person must take on as a result of bottling up their emotions. Continuously refusing to express emotions can lead to deeper emotional issues that are difficult to recover from. The emotional baggage that comes with perpetuating this stereotype is not the only disadvantage involved. A person is often looking for a resolution of the situation that they are angry about. If a person does not express their anger, they are placed at a disadvantage and may not have an opportunity to resolve the problems that are causing the anger. 

Society determining who is allowed to release anger is just simply not fair. Certain people are allowed to express feelings of anger and irritation without fear of how it will reflect on them and perpetuate a stereotype. They are able to publicly display rage (justifiable or not) and are not met with contempt. It is ridiculous that whether a person can express anger or not is determined by their bodies and the social constructs that control them.