Black women have been the backbone of our society since forever. They have been at the forefront of many political, environmental, and religious movements advocating for the betterment of all people. Recently, following the results of the 2024 presidential election, many Black women have taken a seat on being the superheroes of the world. Instead, they are focusing on caring and nurturing themselves so they can show up as the best versions of themselves in an effort to burn their capes.
The term “burn the cape” is in reference to the Black superwoman schema, the heavy burden that Black women feel to be strong, to help and save others. Burning the cape encourages Black women to identify the key factors that contribute to this trope, and burn their superwoman cape so it can never be worn again.
Black superwoman schema, developed by Dr. Cheryl L Woods-Giscombé, focuses on how many Black women adversely: present an image of strength, suppress emotions, resist being vulnerable, have a drive to succeed despite limited resources and self sacrifice in order to help others. These factors were, and are often still a response to racism, sexism and misogyny that Black women encounter, when simply existing.
According to Dr. Raquel Martin, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and creator of the Burn The Cape initiative, in order to identify and move away from factors that contribute to the superwoman syndrome, Black women must first realize these same mechanisms were at one point protective barriers.
Dr. Martin, who focuses on Black health and wellbeing and identity development, uses her 10-week support group to offer Black women the space to identify the role this superwoman cape has had in the way they have shaped their identity and offer tools rooted to rid themselves of these stereotypes.
“I tell people, don’t take it off, burn it.” she explained. “I let individuals know that the capes have served us, but at this point, it has started to choke us, and we need to take it off. We’re more than we can provide tangibly, and we deserve compassion and taking over our health and well being.”
While the term “burning the cape,” has been taking off on social media platforms like TikTok, burning the cape that Black women oftentimes unknowingly wear, isn’t a trend. Instead it is a continuous practice of stepping outside of harmful triggers, stereotypes and practices that force Black women to ignore their own wellbeing. Taking the first step to burning your cape, simply means acknowledging that the cape even exists, Dr. Martin admits. Burning the cape forces you to recognize that these tropes, may have in many instances, removed you from identifying feelings in your own body.
Burning the cape is a daily act. In her 10-week program, Dr. Martin includes activities like encouraging the women to talk about themselves, not in relation to who they are to other people, but instead, about their loves, passions, values and hobbies. Activities like these decenter everyone else and put Black women at the center of their own lives.
Additionally, Dr. Martin encourages Black women to find community. She created the support group, so that many Black women could heal amongst other women who had an understanding of the mental and emotional effects of Black women schema. While many look to outward communities, Dr. Martin explains that building safe communities starts inwardly.
“A safe place is always going to be you,” she explained. “It’s going to be hard to build a compassionate relationship with someone when you are not compassionate with yourself. It’s going to be hard to be kind to someone else and normalize difficult experiences when you talk to yourself and call yourself everything but a child of God.”
Safe communities are important to maintaining this new lifestyle. It offers accountability and holds you to the standard of never wearing the cape again. More and more, as Black women begin to enter into their soft era, burning the cape becomes a way of life where we focus on centering ourselves and decentering everything and everyone else.