Dissertation Defense: Sis, Throw Your Cape Away: A Qualitative Study of Black Women's Lived Experiences and Perceptions of Health and Wellness

About this Dissertation

Black women's health inequities are historically structured and socially reinforced–yet there remains a critical gap in understanding how the intersection of race and gender impacts Black women’s interactions with health and wellness. Black women are not homogeneous or monolithic; they share experiences, but no single experience defines all Black women. Despite extensive documentation of health disparities, research has failed to center Black women's perceptions of health and wellness through frameworks that honor that complexity. This dissertation seeks to close that gap.

The overall purpose of this study was to use two complementary frameworks — the Superwoman Schema (SWS) and Black Feminist Theory (BFT) — to examine Black women's perceptions of health and wellness. After 18 focus groups (N=81) across Virginia between January and December 2024, two manuscripts emerged from the overall study, collectively addressing three focus areas: physical activity, mental health, and Black women's interactions with healthcare. Focus groups were facilitated by Black women researchers and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis.

The first manuscript, Beyond Strength: Black Women's Perceptions of Physical Activity and Mental Health Through Superwoman Schema and Black Feminist Theory, found that Black women's engagement with physical activity and mental health is not simply a matter of individual motivation, but is shaped by deeply embedded cultural expectations, systemic barriers, and societal norms. Emerging themes included Mental and Emotional Health, Health Infrastructure, Burden of Black Womanhood, Societal Imposition, and Divine Intervention. Participants described physical activity as a form of emotional regulation. Participants described key barriers and facilitators influencing engagement in physical activity and mental health care, including therapist concordance, hair politics, expectations of strength, and religious framing. This manuscript illuminated how intersecting racialized and gendered expectations shape Black women’s health behaviors and engagement, underscoring the importance of centering lived experience in advancing health equity.

The second manuscript, “Ain’t I a Human?”: Examining Black Women’s Healthcare Experiences Through Superwoman Schema and Black Feminist Theory found that patient-provider trust, cultural concordance, and systemic inequities are not peripheral to Black women's care — they are central to how Black women engage with healthcare. Across generations, participants described experiences of being dismissed, unheard, and in some cases subjected to nonconsensual procedures, underscoring the necessity of centering Black women's clinical experiences beyond maternal and gynecological health. Narratives reflected how historical and ongoing harms continue to shape trust, engagement, and perceptions of safety within medical environments.

Together, these manuscripts represent a meaningful step toward building a public health evidence base that not only studies Black women, but is accountable to them — because Black women have long been the subjects of research without being centered in it, and this dissertation seeks to change that.

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