The Role of Counter-narratives in Resisting the Deficit Model of Families for BIPOC Families

Abstract

Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) face discrimination institutionally and interpersonally in the United States. BIPOC parents and family members are placed in a position wherein they have to prepare children and other family members to face these issues while countering a deficit model of family that characterizes BIPOC families as inherently problematic and inferior to White families. This study uses Critical Race Theory to explore how BIPOC families use counternarratives to resist dominant narratives about ethnicity and race. Results indicate that BIPOC families engage in storying to create counternarratives. These counternarratives serve three functions: (1) creating narrative inheritance, (2) co-laboring moments of racial difficulty and discrimination, and (3) situating race and ethnicity historically and ancestrally.

Feeling a little uneasy: A comparative discourse analysis of White and BIPOC college students’ reflective writing about systemic racism

“…Yet, they discursively prioritized their own psychological comfort. This speaks to the power of dominant discourses to operate through people's speech, to do ideological work that contradicts the speaker's intentions, and to largely go unnoticed by said speakers (Martín‐Baro, 1994; Minniear, 2022; Montenegro, 2002). This discursive distinction reflects an ideological and structural distinction of “racism by intent” versus “racism by consequence” (Guess, 2006).…”

“…The use and function of whiteness discourse can be brought into sharper focus when contrasted with the antiracist discourse of Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC). Whether they explicitly endorse antiracism or not, BIPOC are likely to be more knowledgeable than White people about the history of racism and to have been socialized to be aware of the threat of racism and the imperative to actively resist it (Hughes et al., 2006; Minniear, 2022; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).…”

“…Racially minoritized parents report not only talking to their children about racism, but they also acknowledge that doing so prepares their children for racism they may experience (Hughes et al., 2006). Other family members, peers, and cultural sources such as music and film also provide such socialization, often in the form of narrative identity work that provides a counter to dominant racist narratives that frame BIPOC individuals and collectives as inferior (Case & Hunter, 2012; Minniear, 2022; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). More recent research shows that social media can be a profound source of racial socialization generally, and especially as it relates to the intersection of racial identity development and resistance.…”

“Being Sick Does Not Define You”: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making of Autoimmune Disease in Emerging Adult Women in the U.S.

“…Additionally, future research may benefit from employing critical thematic analysis (Lawless & Chen, 2019) to analyze the MVBs in narratives of chronic illness in relation to the ideologies that uphold these beliefs. Furthermore, scholars may be interested in identifying how individuals with chronic illness create counter-narratives to resist dominant ableist ideologies (e.g., Basinger et al, 2022; Minniear, 2023). Finally, future endeavors may focus on narrative resilience processes (Kranstuber Horstman, 2019) and incoherent narratives as sites for critical analysis of resilience processes (Betts et al, 2022).…”