“I am a woman, phenomenally so. A phenomenal woman, that's me” (lines 10-13). These are a couple of lines from Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou, which describes the black woman as a “phenomenal” being. These very words fuel the perspective of the average African American woman in today's society. Many people argue that women's perspective has not changed and that they are still portrayed as negative beings. However, African American women in today's society have had a very strong and powerful effect. They are phenomenal beings who, through a history of trials and tribulations, have come a long way despite adversity. We cannot talk about the positive role of women in any civilization without acknowledging their history: “History has built our sexuality and our femininity. as deviating from those qualities with which white women, the prize of the Western world, have been endowed” (Carby). The role of women in society has been heavily supervised in the last few decades, but now it is taking on a broader perspective for people. In the beginning, women were seen as wives responsible for cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. They couldn't vote while men took care of having jobs and paying bills. It was soon realized that women should have a more important role than what others thought women should have. Women would organize strikes and marches to demonstrate that they should have rights just like everyone else. Women would voice their opinion in any way possible so that they can achieve their goals. Women in general were considered the inferior partner of man. The black race was also considered inferior to the whites. One could only imagine how black women were thought of, they weren't even against... middle of paper... everything. At a time when I would be ashamed to call myself a Black woman, I would have to say that I was ignorant, ignorant to the facts of what is real because of what the media put in my head. It's not the media's fault, it's actually mine. It's my fault because I have been susceptible to the subliminal messages and oblique stereotypes that the media has spread. However, I was recently taught a lesson, a lesson that defines me as a beautiful, intelligent, black woman. A lesson in facts and statistics that say black women are overall above the odds. I can proudly say that these very achievements of my fellow Black women have made me gallantly perceive myself as one of “them,” the Black women who are phenomenal women. Ask me if I'm black and proud and I'll say no. I'm proud because I'm a black woman. A phenomenal woman, that's me.