Status: Pre-Production
Category: Television
Production Dates: 2023
Location: United States
Documentary. The upcoming docuseries, The Myth of the Black Superwoman, is an exploration of Mental Health and African American women. As an artist and woman of color who silently suffered through a mental health challenge, it is of great importance for my works to reflect areas of education, empowerment, and healing for others in need of support and care in relation to mental health.
According to a review by Erica Martin Richards, M.D., PH.D. of The John Hopkins University, “Women are at least twice as likely to experience an episode of major depression as men…and, compared to their Caucasian counterparts, African-American women are only half as likely to seek help (www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/mental-health-among-african-american-women.) Furthermore, Richards states that, “There’s a feeling in a lot of black communities that women have to be strong and stoic. Women are so busy taking care of everyone else — their partners, their elderly parents and their children — they don’t take care of themselves.”
The purpose of this documentary is to dispel the myth that black women must be superwomen; pillars of strength for their families, communities and nations at the expense of their personal health and well-being. African American Women are often praised for their ability to be strong, their sheer fortitude to exude ‘black girl magic’ and their uncanny aptitude to bounce back. Nevertheless, there is a time in which many black women experience depression or other mental health challenges without proper diagnosis or treatment. No longer does the humanity of the black woman have to surrender itself to the stereotypes created by the false narrative of vulnerability as weakness and the idea of mental self-care as a lack of faith or discipline.
