Walking the Tightrope: Parenting Advice in Essence Magazine

Abstract

Analysis of popular parenting advice in the form of magazines provides insight into culturally held views of what it means to be a “good” parent. Although research has examined parenting advice in popular magazines, the target readership has been largely comprised of White, middle-class mothers. The result has been a dearth of research on the social construction of parenthood as portrayed to a primarily African American readership. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the content and themes provided to African American parents through the longest consistently published magazine for African American women—Essence. Parenting articles appearing in Essence from 1996 to 2006 were content analyzed. Among the topics covered was the need to protect children from a racist social environment. A second topic concerned health issues unique to African American children. An authoritative parenting style was advocated and the use of physical punishment was explicitly rejected. Results found that responsibility for parenting rests primarily with African American women. In addition, parents were tasked with the responsibility to provide opportunities for their child to experience racial pride.