Image Over Everything: Respectability Politics and the Emotional Burden on Caribbean Women
- Nada Johnson
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
When looking good becomes more important than feeling good how NJCCS helps women release performance and reclaim authenticity.
🎭 “Fix Yuhself Before Yuh Go Outside!”
In Caribbean culture, image and reputation carry heavy weight especially for women. Many are taught from childhood to present as clean, controlled, and respectable at all times. You must speak properly. Dress decently. Behave well. Never "bring shame" to your family name (Crichlow, 2016).
These unwritten rules are part of respectability politics a system in which marginalized groups are expected to behave in ways that conform to dominant, usually white, norms in order to gain social acceptance (Higginbotham, 1993). For Caribbean women, it often means over-policing the body, voice, and emotions to avoid being seen as “loud,” “loose,” or “ghetto” (Lake, 2015).
🧠 The Psychological Toll of “Always Looking Proper”
While these rules may have originated as protective strategies, they often create emotional repression and performance anxiety. Research shows that:
Women who internalize respectability politics are more likely to struggle with chronic shame, body dissatisfaction, and identity fragmentation (Thomas et al., 2020).
Caribbean women face unique double binds expected to be strong, composed, and feminine, yet never too assertive or expressive (Bailey, 2008).
Constant image management results in low self-worth and disconnection from true identity, especially in professional and faith-based spaces (Phillips, 2021).
💚 What I Help With:
At NJCCS, I work with Caribbean women to disentangle self-worth from external appearance, and to reclaim a sense of self that is authentic, soft, and sovereign. My approach includes:
Deconstruction of Respectability Conditioning→ Explores cultural and historical roots of “performing goodness” and how it impacts the psyche.
Identity Work Beyond Image and Roles→ Supports women in discovering who they are without the pressure to be perfect or palatable.
Emotional Expression Coaching→ Creates space to release emotions - anger, grief, joy, without judgment.
Body Neutrality and Self-Compassion Practices→ Reframes beauty from performance to presence.
Boundary Setting in Image-Obsessed Spaces→ Empowers clients to stop managing others’ perceptions and start honoring their own needs.
🌿 How This Restores Wholeness:
Builds Self-Trust and Inner Validation→ Clients stop relying on external approval and reconnect with internal truth (Tinsley-Jones, 2014).
Reduces Shame and Self-Silencing→ Women begin to express real emotions, not just “appropriate” ones (Crenshaw, 1991).
Heals Intergenerational Image Trauma→ Therapy explores how mothers and grandmothers passed down appearance-based survival rules (Bailey, 2008).
Increases Freedom in Relationships and Workspaces→ Clients show up more fully, knowing they don’t need to be “perfect” to be worthy.
Normalizes Softness and Messiness→ Women realize they can be vulnerable and powerful at the same time.
🕊️ You Are More Than a Presentation
You are not just your voice, your clothes, your smile, or your poise.
You don’t need to look good to be whole.
At NJCCS, you’re invited to show up as you are not as who you were trained to perform.
📧 Contact me at info@nadajohnsonservices.com if this blog spoke to you.
Warm Regards,
Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker
🌍Website: www.nadajohnsonservices.com
📩 Contact: info@nadajohnsonservices.com
Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services - Online phone and video sessions available
Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue
C: 437-887-6146
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📚 References
Bailey, M. (2008). Performance, respectability and the politics of Black Caribbean womanhood. Feminist Studies, 34(3), 561–584.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.
Crichlow, W. (2016). Bullers and Battymen: Contesting homophobia in Black Caribbean communities. UBC Press.
Higginbotham, E. B. (1993). Righteous discontent: The women's movement in the Black Baptist church, 1880–1920. Harvard University Press.
Lake, O. (2015). Colonialism and the politics of representation: Respectability, Black women, and the Caribbean imaginary. Caribbean Review of Gender Studies, 9, 1–22.
Phillips, N. (2021). “Keeping up appearances”: The emotional labor of respectability in Caribbean church communities. Sociology of Religion, 82(2), 123–142.
Thomas, K. J., Dantzler, P. A., & Yarber, W. L. (2020). The high cost of ‘classiness’: Black women and internalized respectability in the diaspora. Gender & Society, 34(5), 761–787.
Tinsley-Jones, H. (2014). Black women’s identity development in oppressive systems. Journal of Black Psychology, 40(3), 215–238.
Want More Support for Your Professional & Personal Growth?
🔷Try Potential Unlocked™
In addition to counseling, NJCCS offers coaching through our sister brand, Potential Unlocked™, designed specifically for professional women navigating career, leadership, and life transitions.
We support clients with:
Communication and conflict strategy in the workplace
Career development and leadership coaching
Navigating workplace dynamics and burnout recovery
Building confidence in both personal and professional relationships (Online dating empowerment coaching, because personal growth impacts professional life too!)
👉 Visit www.potentialunlocked.ca to learn more or book a free 10-minute consultation call.
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