Black boys and black girls in comics : an affective and historical mapping of intertwined stereotypes

This chapter examines the representation of black boys and black girls in comics, with a strong focus on early comics from the late nineteenth century. It combines the study of gender with the study of racist representations. Weaving connections with related cultural products such as animation and children’s literature, the chapter shows how racist stereotypes permeate representations of black children regardless of gender. Performative and persistent racist stereotypes such as the pickaninny transcend genders and coalesce the bodies of both black boys and black girls. Although black boys outnumber black girls in comics, they channel stereotypes that can be traced back to the visualization of Topsy, the slave girl in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This chapter proposes the concept of soft hate in order to explain how denigrating imagery persists and serves as a conduit of racist sentiment even in contexts that would otherwise condemn such feelings.

ISBN:9780429264276

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Toegankelijkheid:Open