Dr. Janette Taylor knows pain.  

Most people do, but as a Black woman who has been on both sides of the American healthcare system as a provider and a patient, Dr. Taylor knows the frequently unnecessary pain that women in her community are subjected to.  

A Professor Emerita of African American Studies as well as Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa, Dr. Taylor also holds a PhD in nursing and is a certified nurse practitioner.  

Through her specialties in obstetrics, gynecological, and neonatal nursing alongside domestic violence intervention, she has witnessed the stereotypes that plague women’s healthcare. This includes a belief that Black women have a naturally higher threshold for pain, leading to them not being treated with the empathy that should be widespread in healthcare.  

Dr. Venise Berry also noticed this problem. A professor at the University of Iowa’s Journalism School, Dr. Berry studies African American cultural criticism, including the stereotypes that are placed on Black women. Such stereotypes include the “mammy,” “jezebel,” and “sapphire” archetypes, but one that particularly intrigued her was the “superwoman.”  

As such, The Black Superwoman & Mental Health: Power and Pain was born. A collection of poems, short stories, personal essays, and research articles, The Black Superwoman showcases Black women who have experienced the positives and negatives of the stereotype that they are invincible.  

“Once we bought into this idea of being Black superwomen, we did really kind of lose track of how devastating it is to our mental and physical health to try to ‘do it all,’” Dr. Berry said. “We’re constantly helping other people. We’re not really taking good care of ourselves, and that’s where the concept for the book really kind of took a turn.”  

Dr. Taylor adds that the book’s byline, Power and Pain, comes from the negatives and positives of the superwoman identity. “Who doesn’t want to be super, right? And we are indeed wonderful, but what started off as a term to couch us into something positive was still a stereotype that kept us on a certain pathway which did not lead to the best of health for us,” Dr. Taylor said.   

The Black Superwoman is separated into six sections, each highlighting a different theme within the featured pieces. The sections examine fear, anxiety, and fatigue; stereotypes and stigmas; navigating hurt, hate, and bias; self-criticism and suicide; G-d, belief, and spirituality; and power and pain.  

Berry explained that creating and publishing the book wasn’t always easy. “A lot of publishers are limited in categorizing writing and said, ‘Well, it’s not poetry. It’s not a collection of short stories. What do we do with that?,’” Dr. Berry said, explaining that Peter Lang eventually offered to be the publisher, but the book faced a delayed release.  

When Dr. Berry reached out to Dr. Taylor about collaborating on a new book, Dr. Taylor was somewhat reluctant.  

Although Dr. Taylor was interested in working with Dr. Berry on a collection that could acknowledge Black women's pain and empower them, she was struggling with severe chronic fatigue syndrome, which often limited her energy. She mentioned Dr. Berry’s persistence through the first three years of creating the book, encouraging her to write about her experience and passions. 

“Being a person who is grounded in feminist, womanist, and critical social theory, the idea of the book appealed to me even though I didn’t have the energy. And I’m glad she [Dr. Berry] persisted, because I think Black women’s voices need to be heard,” Dr. Taylor said. 

“The variety across the spectrum of experiences that does not homogenize us needs to be heard, and across age groups as well as identities. So I was more than happy to try and make the book together.”  

Dr. Taylor subsequently wrote a piece for the book detailing her experiences with a chronic illness. Although she specializes in academic writing, she wanted to challenge herself by writing about a painful personal experience, with an openness that is sometimes viewed as taboo within the Black community. Despite writer’s block and anxiety, Dr. Taylor contributed to the book and was thrilled when other women showed interest in doing so as well.  

“The women who contributed to these chapters opened themselves up,” she said, “I thought of it as a testimony, where if you know my personal testimony, and if it helps someone else, then I was certainly willing to struggle through the writing process and get my experience on the pages,” Dr. Taylor said. (put this after the first sentence of the quote.) 

Dr. Berry also contributed to the book, writing three pieces that described varying experiences. One detailed a Black mother’s struggles with postpartum depression, while another highlighted the growth in media portrayals of Black women attending therapy, a pastime that is sometimes frowned upon. Dr. Berry explained that historically, people within the Black community would speak to their pastors or other religious figures for guidance.  

As such, she interviewed six Black women pastors about, “How faith, religion, and spirituality influence their need to play Superwoman and its impacts on their mental health.”  

Overall, the book was extremely well-received, and both professors are happy they could contribute to a project that validates Black women’s pain and celebrates their accomplishments.