All Power to the Peers: Black Women Graduate Students’ Peer Relationship Typologies in PWIs

Abstract

This phenomenological study highlights the types of peer relationships 15 Black women graduate students experienced while attending urban predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Three types of peer relationships were identified: (a) the “sistah-gurl” peer relationship, (b) the proxy-mentor peer relationship, and (c) the rival peer relationship. Findings suggest that these relationships provided a means of mutual caring, resistance, and optimal coping in response to oppressive institutional norms within PWIs. Implications for the presence of Black women graduate students’ peer relationships in PWIs are discussed.