DEPRESSION IN WOMEN OF COLOR
VeLora Lilly, PhD., LCSW
University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
San Francisco, California
PART 2: MESSAGES FROM WITHOUT
On a daily basis women of color are subjected to messages and images that constrain and demean them telling them who they are and what is expected from them. As described by Mitchell/Herring (1998) in All About the Blues, Black and Latina women are portrayed by TV news as "drug-addicted welfare mothers of innumerable neglected children, or as either stoic or hysterical mourners at the funerals of our brothers, sisters, lovers and children. We listen to music that often portrays us as accessories, good only for sex (albeit good sex), who once we've overstayed our welcome, become bitching drains on the wallet, distractions from the real business of life. We go to work, where we are seen as the exception (intelligent and hardworking) to the rule (dumb and lazy) when we know we are the rule; or where we're commonly known as the affirmative action experiment, always expected to prove ourselves the inferior talent everyone suspects we are." (p.52)

Living in a society where racism and discrimination prevail is a major contributing factor to depression in women of color. From the superficial: "a world that lauds white standards of beauty, speech, dress and expression as the only acceptable behavior and desirable way to look" to the more overt acts and covert slights, women of color experience feelings of humiliation, anger and despair. A society that places little value on their race/ethnicity or their femaleness takes its toll on their psyche and their physical health.

Latinas are often perceived as poor, unemployed, politically weak, inferior, illegal using up resources that they have not earned. They are cheap labor, pretty but stupid, "breeders,' housekeepers and childcare workers for the privileged. Stereotypes aside, they may truly be struggling with language and acculturation issues as are their other immigrant sisters.

Asians in America have been discriminated against since the mid 1800s and continue to be the target of hate crimes, blamed for taking American jobs and subjected to "Japan bashing" in the media. Asian women are stereotyped as submissive, childlike, a more acceptable alternative partner to their sisters of darker hues: the No. 1 model minority."

Mixed race women experience triple jeopardy being non-white, female and ambiguous in their appearance and group affiliation. Myths abound about their sexuality, impulse control, moral and mental defectiveness. They are perceived as exotic, curiosities, sexually desirable, passionate, unhappy, tragic, confused and suspect.

All in all, women of color are too often confronted with negative discouraging messages about themselves as inadequate, inferior or useless.

Many women of color live in poverty as well. They may be struggling to support their extended families and care for their children without adequate resources of support. Mitchell/Herring quote statistics that: 43% of Black women are single moms; 52% live below the poverty line; 15% are working poor; and the majority of Black women whether married and/or with children are working outside the home. (p.147)

We do know that the stresses of poverty lead to isolation and depression. Women of color are at greater risk of developing a myriad of ailments and illnesses which occur more frequently than for whites. For example, of the sixteen leading causes of death, the mortality rate for Black women surpasses that of white women in 13 of those causes. Availability of medical care and ability to access it are compromised if a woman is poor. Education and employment opportunities are seriously limited by discriminatory practices in American society.

Even when women of color are working/career women, racism is prevalent in the workplace and on college campuses. Women of color face all the stresses working white women do: earning less money than male counterparts, trying to break through glass ceilings, fending off sexual harassment and balancing work and family. However, there are additional stressors unique to women of color: being passed over for a promotion because of racial discrimination, being thought of as the affirmative action hire and having one's abilities questioned, facing the wrath of Black men who feel their jobs are being taken. Mitchell/Herring note that for Black women the move from lower paying to higher paying jobs often increases the incidence of depression as career success may mean being separated from support systems.(p.149).