Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amelia Cole

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Higher & Adult Education

Committee Chair

Wendy Griswold

Committee Chair

Susan Nordstrom

Committee Member

Edith Gnanadass

Committee Member

Ladrica Menson-Furr

Abstract

The sexual abuse and prostitution of Black women is a system of oppression that has its foundation in slavery and is still embedded in the culture of the U.S. This ongoing practice of domination, racism, sexism, and class exploitation is at work daily in the lives of Black women. Some of the harsh conditions of today that limit choice and influence Black women into prostitution include poverty, lack of opportunity/education, and prior sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, which leads to a disproportionate number of women of color and girls of color who are trapped by racism and structural oppression into prostitution. Drawing on Black Feminist Theorists (BFT) Collins (2000) and hooks (1989) and Communities of Practice by Wenger (1998) and Wenger et al. (2002), the purpose of this study is to share the narratives of Black women survivors of prostitution and their communities of practice to consider the role of spiritual practices in shaping their experiences. The participants were recruited using nonprobability methods of purposeful and network sampling. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to interview two Black women former prostitutes who live in an urban city in the mid-south region of the U.S. Narrative inquiry, informed by BFT, was utilized to focus on the personal narratives of the participants and Evans-Winters’ (2019) daughtering was utilized as the analytical method. The findings suggest that the participants were members of communities of practice that practiced spiritual practices, where they were socially constructed and learned spiritual practices. The results confirmed that learning spiritual practices is situated in a social context and occurs through ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ in communities of practice. Spiritual practices are leading forces in the lives of Black women adult learners and positive coping strategies for obtaining support from a higher power that promotes resilience, healing, and well-being.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

Download

Share

COinS