A white woman goes into an upscale shop to look at clothes.She is excited to see that there is a sale and gathers a huge pile of clothes to take into the dressing room.An African American woman goes into the store and is also excited about the sale but hesitates to take too many clothes into the dressing room because she is afraid the staff will think she might shoplift.
W.E.B.Du Bois would say that the African American woman has:
A) a racist agenda.
B) low self-esteem.
C) a double consciousness.
D) a negative self-image.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

W.E.B. Du Bois coined the term "double consciousness" to describe the experience of African Americans having to navigate their own internal sense of self with the external perceptions and stereotypes imposed upon them by society. In this scenario, the African American woman is hesitant to take too many clothes into the dressing room because she is aware of the stereotype that Black people are more likely to shoplift, which is a manifestation of double consciousness. A and D are incorrect because there is no indication that the African American woman has a negative self-image or malicious intentions. B is not directly relevant to the scenario.

A White Woman Goes into an Upscale Shop to Look