Acting White

Kent State professors study teen phenomenon

By Melissa Edler, ‘00

“You act so white!”

“You talk just like a white girl.”

These are some of the comments one might hear when walking the halls of high schools these days. They’re known to psychologists as “acting white” accusations. A black student who receives good grades and participates in social activities is likely to be labeled as acting white by his or her peers.

“The acting white phenomenon has little to do with being white, but has everything to do with being black,” says Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, Kent State associate professor of psychology.

In a study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Neal-Barnett and Dr. Robert Stadulis, professor emeritus of exercise, leisure and sport, examined the behaviors and attitudes that lead to the acting white accusation. First, they looked at the criteria being used by African-American adolescents who make the accusations. “Previous research had equated acting white with valuing academic success, but this is a myth,” says Neal-Barnett. Other criteria include the student’s social activities, friends and speech.

These accusations can affect a teen’s emotional, social and academic wellbeing. According to Neal-Barnett, kids are affected the most by an accusation when it’s directed at their social activities. After being accused, students often begin to hide their intelligence, allow their grades to drop or even isolate themselves from friends.

The students also may spend time exploring the meaning of their blackness, an idea known as the “acting white trap.” Some alter their behavior to be more “black;” they prefer to be what other kids expect them to be rather than face the accusation. Others realize this behavior is not who they are and abandon the effort.

“Everyone black wants to make you fit their definition of being black. Everyone white wants to make you fit their definition of being black. All I want is to be myself,” says one adolescent who participated in the study.

But why do kids make these accusations against their peers? “Kids who accuse their peers of acting white do so either as a joke or to put someone in their place,” says Neal-Barnett. She and Stadulis have used their research to create an Acting White Experiences Scale^©that screens for adolescents who have faced the accusation. By identifying the factors that lead to the accusation, she hopes researchers and psychologists will be better able to study the psychological impact of the acting white phenomenon.

Neal-Barnett and Stadulis also have studied “acting black” in college-age students. They found those students define acting black most significantly through their fashion, music and verbal communications.

While their work has dealt primarily with schools and youth organizations in Ohio, Neal-Barnett says this is not just an American phenomenon. “In any country where blacks are viewed as a ‘minority,’ you will find references to acting white.” One example she cites is a chapter relating to acting white in the novel Zenzele, which is set in Zimbabwe and chronicles a woman’s life lessons from childhood in pre-revolutionary Rhodesia to the present day Zimbabwe.

The issue of acting white continues to impact adolescents. In the near future, Neal-Barnett plans to study the relationship between racial identity, acting white and the development of anxiety during adolescence.

“By understanding what leads to an accusation, we will be better able to develop strategies that assist teens in coping effectively with the accusation,” says Neal-Barnett.

For more information about these studies, contact Neal-Barnett at 330-672-2266 or aneal@kent.edu.

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