Womanist Ways of Knowing: Theoretical Considerations for Research with African American Women

Abstract

Research designs that are congruent with theoretical frameworks of African American women are important. However, many researchers remain unfamiliar with womanist thought or are unsure of how it can be used to inform specific aspects of research design. The article explicates a womanist epistemologic framework that can undergird the development of intervention designs aimed at assisting African American women incorporate health-promoting behaviors into their lives.

What makes cancer survivor stories work? An empirical study among African American women

“…Valuing experiential ways of knowing also predicted positive reactions to the stories. If this orientation is indeed common among working class African American women [20][21][22][23], we see no reason to expect that it effects would be different among such women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.…”

“…In the eyes of the Black community, it was women's ability to keep families together, resourcefulness in getting material things for their children, and general ability to survive in a White world that reflected "real intelligence." This distinction between school-based knowledge and common sense is reported to be central among the beliefs of many poor and working class African American women [21][22][23]; in short, common sense and wisdom are viewed as coming from life experience outside of school and judged based on one's ability to cope with everyday problems. Those who highly value such experience-based knowledge may be more likely to respond positively to stories from cancer survivors, precisely because a survivor has personal experience with the disease.…”

Culturally Appropriate Substance Abuse Treatment for Parenting African American Women

“…Prior to conducting the interviews, the semi-structured interview guide was reviewed by the women in the study. This procedure is consistent with womanist theoretical framework and helps to establish communal ownership of the research and equalize the power dynamics between researcher and participant (Banks-Wallace, 2000). After informed consent was obtained, each participant completed a single audiotaped interview lasting from one to two hours.…”

“…It is useful in conducting and interpreting research with African American women because it provides a space to recognize the uniqueness of African American women's experiences (Banks-Wallace, 2000; Barbee, 1994;Taylor, 1998). An in-depth discussion of a womanist methodology is reported elsewhere (Banks-Wallace, 2000;Taylor, 1998).…”

A Qualitative Perspective of Family Resources Among Low Income, African American Grandmother–Caregivers

“…A womanist perspective examines caregiving within a broad socio-historicalpolitical context of gender and caregiving. Several scholars have used a black feminist perspective (Barbee, 1994;Bryson & Lawrence Webb, 2001), a womanist perspective (Banks-Wallace, 2000;Littlefield, 2003;Taylor, 1998), Afrocentric theory (Baldwin, 1996), or the convergence of Afrocentric theory with black feminist theory (Dickerson, 1995) to conduct and interpret research with African American women.…”