Cassandra And The "Sistahs": The Peculiar Treatment Of African American Women In The Myth Of Women As Liars

Summary

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I.Introduction II. Women as Liars A. Five Forms of the Female Liar in Sexual Harassment Suits B. Essentialism III. Common Stereotypes of African American Women A. Mammy, Sapphire, Jezebel and Their Sisters B.The Newest Sibling: Cassandra 1. Anita Hill 2.Others a. Tawana Brawley b. Desiree Washington c. Unnamed Sisters in Contexts Unrelated to Sex IV. Exorcism: How Do We Purge Ourselves of This Curse?

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Cassandra And The "Sistahs": The Peculiar Treatment Of African American Women In The Myth Of Women As Liars

I. Introduction

This article is the result of one of those clarifying moments when out of the blue I was reminded that despite ample indicia of achievement in this society, I continue to lack credibility in the eyes of many.1 As I examined and explored

with others the incident that sparked that thought, several explanations emerged, but one of them, that I am an African American woman, lingers. In 1997, I became the defendant in a lawsuit. One of the issues in the suit concerned the value of property that the plaintiff and I jointly owned. Because the suit was filed in a jurisdiction far from my present home, I engaged local counsel to represent me. We communicated through telephone, fax messages and occasionally by mail. I sent documents and correspondence that both supported my claim and identified what I felt were misleading and downright dishonest claims by the plaintiff. In a conversation several months after our association began, my lawyer told me that he had actually visited the property in question and that he was surprised by its good condition and agreed that the plaintiffs appraisal was clearly erroneous.2I was stunned. The basis of my resistance to the lawsuit was that the property was indeed in excellent condition and of obvious value. I had assumed that my lawyer, familiar, I thought, with my reputation in the community, believed me. The facts at issue were easily verifiable, yet not only did he not believe me, but he also was not at all concerned that I might take umbrage at his admission of his disbelief.

At the time of this incident, I was reading Professor Anita Hill's Speaking Truth to Power3 As I read this very candid, often heroic, more often painful, rendition of her experiences during the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, I could only imagine how devastating it must have been to be so publicly branded a liar by such powerful men. As I indicated at the outset, I have been offered several explanations for my attorney's disbelief. One suggestion is that attorneys neither believe nor disbelieve their clients. In fact, they do not want to know whether their clients' claims are meritorious. Another explanation is that attorneys are so often lied to by their clients that they are conditioned to assume that all of their clients dissemble. Yet another was the suggestion that when powerful institutions' or individuals' claims are juxtaposed against those of less powerful or powerless institutions and individuals, the attachment of credibility to the powerful itself becomes an indicia of power. This last suggestion is one that is most closely akin to my interpretation: that my racial/gendered identity as an African American woman is, by definition, among the least powerful people in our society, making me particularly and peculiarly susceptible to being disbelieved.

There are three stereotypes most often associated with African American women: Mammy, Sapphire and Jezebel.4 In this article, we add to the list one stereotype that is assigned to women generally, to members of minority groups usually, and to African American women in particular-that of Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.5 She was so beautiful that the Greek god Apollo fell in love with her.6 Apollo attempted to woo her by granting her the gift of vision, an ability to foresee the future.7 When Cassandra ignored his sexual advances, he turned against her.8 Cassandra's gift of prophecy would forever be overshadowed by Apollo's curse.9As a consequence of this curse, no one believed in her visions or listened to her warnings.

10 She foresaw the fall of Troy.11 She warned the Trojans that the Greeks were hiding in the wooden horse.12 But she was powerless to prevent the war because no one believed her predictions.13 Similarly, in Aeschylus' play, Agamemnon, Cassandra foresaw her own death, but the audience is led to ignore her vision.14 Despite Cassandra's accurate predictions, her community insisted on seeing her as a liar.15

The mythological character of Cassandra resounds powerfully for many feminists.16 In the feminist context, Cassandra is remembered not as a mereprophetess whose visions were never believed because of a wrathful god, but rather as the product of a patriarchal culture which p...

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