Black Girls’ Experiences of Invisibility in School

Black adolescent girls encounter multiple levels of discriminatory injustices, including racism and sexism. Invisibility is an oppressive practice and a form of gendered racism used to marginalize Black girls. This study uses intersectionality and Black Feminist Epistemology as theoretical frames to explore and define invisibility for Black girls. Using a grounded theory methodological approach, data collection included two rounds of interviews with each participant who identified as a Black girl currently enrolled in high school in the United States ( N = 13, ages 14–18, M age = 16.54). The analysis process defined invisibility and uncovered the multidimensional themes of invisibility for Black girls related to feeling a lack of support, unacknowledged, dismissed, dehumanized, unheard, minimized, and excluded. These themes make up how Black girls articulated feeling invisible and illuminated implications for their well-being when feeling invisible in school. Findings also revealed several harmful types of invisibility motivated by gendered racial stereotypes, which have implications for Black girls’ wellness and school participation.