"Oh, Those Loud Black Girls!": A Phenomenological Study of Black Girls Talking with an Attitude

Authors

Jacqueline B. Koonce, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2012

Abstract

Current research suggests that it is imperative for researchers and educators to pay more attention to the needs of African American adolescent girls and how their race and gender affect schooling (Fordham, 1993; Morris, 2007). The purpose of this study was to highlight the lived experiences of two African American adolescent girls when they used the African American women's speech practice, "Talking with an Attitude" (TWA), with their teachers. Using phenomenology and Afrocentric feminist epistemology as methodological and theoretical approaches, interviews were used to collect and analyze data that revealed the nature of their lived experiences. Van Manen's description of selective highlighting of statements that point to themes was used as a means of analysis. The findings indicate that the girls reappropriated the use of TWA to resist what they perceived to be hostility and disrespect on the part of their teachers. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Recommended Citation

Koonce, J. B. (2012). “Oh, Those Loud Black Girls!”: A Phenomenological Study of Black Girls Talking with an Attitude. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 8(2), 26-46.

Publication Title

Journal of Language and Literacy Education