You have to show strength An exploration of gender, race, and depression

Investigating the possible overlap between depressed and presumably strong Black women, this article maintains that women's experiences of depression are both gendered and raced. A review of clinical and popular literatures examining Black women's experiences of depression as well asfindingsfrom an interview study with a nonclinical sample of 44 Black women suggest that the discourse of being strong may normalize a distress-inducing level of selflessness and powerlessness among such women. Implications of this study include the need to consider the racially specific ways in which women are placed at risk for and experience depression.