Reexamining the 'Jezebel' Stereotype: The Role of Implicit and Psychosexual Attitudes

The historical 'Jezebel' stereotype labels Black American women as promiscuous and sexually manipulative. This study used vignettes to test whether or not individuals would rate a similar Black or White woman differently on Jezebel characteristics and what factors related to ratings including sexual double standard beliefs, permissive sexual attitudes, social dominance orientation, and implicit prejudice. Results indicated that participants did not overall rate the Black and White women differently on Jezebel characteristics, but individuals higher in implicit prejudice against Blacks did rate the Black woman as possessing more Jezebel stereotype characteristics than the White woman. Sexual double standard beliefs were the strongest predictive factor in ratings for both the Black and White women. Implications for Black women's sexual identity are discussed.
Background Research supports the idea that Black women are often stereotyped as hypersexual, sexually manipulative, and promiscuous, and this sexual stereotype may negatively impact the perception of Black women as [...]