Female Slave Narratives and Appearance

The purpose of this study was to explore how dress and appearance functioned for African American female slaves in published narratives. Research relevant to Black feminism, usefulness of slave narratives, and literature on African American slave appearance provided a foundation for this research. Data collection was conducted by using a hybrid narrative inquiry method consisting of thematic analysis and categorical-content analysis, to interpret 708 verbatim references to appearance. Analysis exposed that the data were partitioned into two discrete themes: (a) components reflective of Control and (b) components that revealed physical and psychological Emancipation. The stories of the women in these narratives provided descriptive information and an intersectional understanding of appearance in relation to social interactions in chattel environments. Appearance enabled telling these women's life stories as slaves through the processes of assimilating, experiencing and escaping. A matrix of female slave narrator lives and appearance emerged.