Midterm The article presented by Tiffany G. Townsend, “I’m No Jezebel; I Am Young, Gifted, and Black: Identity, Sexuality, and Black Girls,” is focused around the stigmas that society has placed on African American women and their perceptions of themselves and self beauty. It goes into depth to analyze how certain interactions and encounters shape how African American females develop and how they identify sexually. In the research, it talks about what a Jezebel is, and it is identified as a light skinned woman with long hair, who is perceived as “seductive, manipulative, and unable to control her sexual drives” (Townsend 274). Then they go on to identify who Mammy is, who is unattractive and obese and of a darker complexion. Both of these images were that which were projected onto women of African American descent, by the media and the European culture. This created an idea of “colorism”, and it made things that were of a lighter skin, or closer to their Caucasian and Latina counterparts to seem more accepted. It goes on to speak about how stereotypes have negatively affected the development and actions of African American women of all ages, from Jezebel all the way to the modern, do it all super woman, essentially being the single woman. The connection between childhood sexual abuse and the likelihood of continued victimization and sexual exploitation is also explored. The research goes into detail to see what is affecting the ways that African American females are looking at themselves. For instance, they value intelligence and it plays a role within their femininity, and it is said that may govern how they behave and think of themselves. The purpose of their study was to examine the relationships between stereotypic images, beauty standards, and identification concepts and components. Previous research had stated that stereotypes do play a large role on how