What is adultification? Why should it matter to Black women?
Here is the issue…
When you look at a little Black girl what do you see? How many times have you heard of a little Black girl being referred to as fast? Be honest. Do you see innocence or do you see someone who is sneaky, automatically capable of taking care of herself or even of someone else? Before you answer, it has been found that adults in the United States see little Black girls as less innocent and more adult like than their white peers, especially those ages 5 to 14 years old. The reasons for this are complex, systemic and environmental. Some studies have investigated the connection between nutrition and puberty of African American girls. The impact of slavery on the African American woman has traveled through generations. The term adultification became a hot topic in 2017 by Georgetown Law Center on Poverty & Inequality.
Even Black children deserve love and protection…
Imagine being in danger as a child or needing someone to talk to and those with more power than you think that you need less nurturing, less protection, need to be supported less, need to be comforted less, or they think you are more independent. They even go as far as thinking you already know more about sex. It’s devastating to a child whose survival and ability to thrive greatly depends on emotional connection with others.
Black girls grow into Black women…
Adultification is a form of bias that can show up in two ways. First, when children are functioning at a more mature developmental stage because of necessity and situational circumstances, especially in low resource communities. Second, adultification shows up as a social or cultural stereotype based on how children are perceived and seen on the outside by other adults. This second manifestation is primarily based on race.
There has likely been an internalization of this bias by Black women. Black women whose childhoods’ have been erased because of adultification may self soothe and cope in unproductive ways, not ask questions or ask for help, overwork and feel unworthy of rest, and practice emotional vulnerability less often.
Here is how you address adultification bias….
It might be difficult for Black women to grasp the concept of adultification, as so much of our culture is based around the entire family just surviving. Being subjected to or perpetuating adultification bleeds into our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Explore how you could have internalized or even perpetuated this stereotype. Do you feel worthy of love? What specific experiences sent the message that you weren’t? Have you ever prematurely judged a young Black girl?
Advocate for the young Black girls in your own world by listening and offering support. For example, engage and show interest in what’s most important to them (ask them about school, friends, pop culture). Interject when you hear subtle injustices taking place. They are not just miniature adults, they experience the world differently than we do.
Affirm and voice your human right to be protected, loved, and nurtured. We have created a FREE download of 14 Affirmations for Black women who have experienced adultification bias. Use it and share with your community.
We enjoy learning and teaching others about these concepts that greatly impact the lives of Black women. Here is a quick parentification quiz for Black women who question whether they were forced to grow up too soon.
Montina Myers-Galloway is a Black female therapist in Charlotte, NC. She owns Myers-Galloway Counseling where they specialize in treating obsessive anxiety and high functioning depression in professional Black women who feel like they can’t find healthy relationships, feel undervalued at work, and feel unheard in their families.
