Ways in Which the Experience of Slavery Different From Men and Women - Essay Example

Ways in Which the Experience of Slavery Different From Men and Women Introduction Slavery was a devastating experience for all men and women who were taken as slaves from their countries or considered to be slaves. Those who were largely affected were black men and women. This is because they were forcefully taken away from their families and home country. Likewise, they were subjected to hard labor which had severe mental and physical effects on them as it denied them of their rights as fellow human beings. Both men and women who were considered to be slaves were prone to abuse which were inform of beatings, being secluded from their loved ones as a way of correcting them from their mistakes or instilling some sense in them for a given period and they were all considered as property as they were owned by their masters. These acts degraded most slaves because as fellow human beings they were denied all the rights which their masters enjoyed. In addition, the treatment they received while under slavery was completely differently from those they received at their home countries therefore, they were bothered a lot by the change of events and circumstances. This essays will examine the different ways in which slavery experience differed between men and women. Precolonial and Colonial Period In spite of the common factors of slavery experience between men and women, the circumstances of slavery between men were quite different as they were treated differently though all treatments towards them were traumatizing. The first batch of slaves who were brought to the British colonies were men who were considered to be more valuable as compared to women. Gender played a gig role here as men were considered to have more physical strengths than their counterparts who were women. Therefore, they were used to accomplish heavy tasks like building houses and plowing fields which belonged to the different masters whom they were handed over to serve. However, the situation was different when women were brought in by the Dutch into Amsterdam. The aim in bringing these women was to provide company for their fellow black men as they had noticed that the men were lonely most of times and it was negatively affecting how they worked. Therefore, in so doing, they believed that the men who were being used to provide different manual labors would be motivated to work even harder when they had their women as their companions around. Likewise, women were also brought by the Dutch to supplement their workforce as there were certain tasks like cooking which men were not considered to be good at1. Secondly, most men who were taken as slave were robust men hence had a lot of energy to accomplish different manual tasks. They were used in sugar crop foundations therefore they were heavily priced by individuals who were conducting or operating the slavery business. In addition, most of the young men who were brought in by the Dutch were later transported to West Indies which was largely known for the production of sugar crops hence making them few for different masters in North America. Therefore, the trend changed within the region as slave buyers resorted to buying women who were priced cheaply and readily available on the market. The women were used in accomplishing different field hands task which did not require great physical labor like planting of seeds amongst others. On the contrary, men were assigned task which required skills and therefore they were tasked with such things like carpentry and blacksmithing but these were petty jobs which could not earn them anything or raise their positions within the society.2 As the population increased, there was a role change as the number of male slave who were being sent to the fields reduced as they were taught skilled tasks like carpentry and blacksmithing. On the other hand, the number of women working or providing hand jobs in the field increased as they were being referred into fields to help with hand jobs work in the agricultural sector. The results of this, the number of women who were assigned to work on the fields passed the number of men who also were assigned to work in the fields. Another difference is that women slaves who were taken in by smaller farms were tasked with same responsibilities as men. They were used to provide physical labor for their different masters. This was in contrary to how larger farms divided their field work based on gender of the slaves. Here task which were physically demanding were assigned to male whereas those which were less physically demanding assigned to females. A good example is that men were used for accomplishing such tasks like chopping wood which would be latter used for fencing purposes while women would be given the task of finishing construction jobs. Likewise, men were used for plowing fields while women hoed the plowed fields. This was in contrary to practices and beliefs of the Africans as they felt that they were abused. Such task like men ploughing the fields alongside their women companion and women tasked with construction jobs were taboos backs in the slaves’ home countries. A good example was that in West Africa, ploughing was an act that was considered as responsibilities which were supposed to be accomplished by women. Hence both male and female slaves were not happy individuals as their practices and customs were trampled on. Moreover, when it came to punishment, male slaves were generally flogged or whipped. This was very embarrassing for them because at times their children and women would see them weep. In such parts like West Africa, men were expected to exude strength and such things like weeping were left for women and children. On the contrary, women were punished in a different way than their men. Most were sexually abused as form of punishment and as result, some ended up giving birth to children who were mixed race therefore adding their pains and their men’s pains. 3 Modern Day In the modern day society, slavery experience between males and female have taken a different form from that of the precolonial time. Today, and especially in developing countries, women are being treated as maids as they are the ones who assigned all cleaning responsibilities. This has been based on such factors like race gender and class. In relating to the issue of gender, women today are being treated as servants in some countries especially by their men as the men have developed a perception that women’s role is to stay at home and look after the home and children. Some are even denied to work of any manner by their husbands who insist on their staying at home. This is diminishing to women because they are denied a voice in raising their concern of how they feel thus always living at the peril of their male counterparts to whom they are married to or living with. On the other hand, males who are working have been subjected to slavery by some of their employers who practically control their work life and in return reflecting on their personal life. A lot of task is always demanded from male counterparts in today’s society as they are expected to accomplish task which are always impossible and the compensation is always unfair as it does not match the amount of work required from them. The end result of this is that they always suffer from mental problems and psychological breakdowns. 4 Secondly, modern day slavery which involve human trafficking has led to different experiences between male and females in the society. The total number of men and women living under slavery are estimated to be roughly thirty million according to the United Nations. Women who are trafficked today as result of modern day slavery are always not in a position to protect themselves. They are always trafficked for sex trade purposes and their experiences while at different locations where they have been trafficked to be is always dehumanizing. These women are always subjected to sexual abuse from all sorts of customers who use them as sexual tools and the results is that they always obtain physical, emotional and psychological injuries. In addition, they are always in no position to complain or travel back to their countries as they are always locked up and their traveling documents confiscated therefore they have no way to receive help or protect themselves from such abuses caused as result of slavery. On the contrary males who are always victim of human trafficking are always misled by various slave dealers or kidnapped and taken to countries which are always not stable to be used for such purposes like road constructions without being awarded pay or compensation for their labor, Moreover, it is always difficult to find or assist those male who are kidnapped for purposes of labor and taken into other new locations as much is not always done by the respective concerned governments. 5 Conclusion In conclusion, both precolonial and modern day slavery has negatively impacted on family formation as it becomes difficult or impossible to maintain a family and has also led to separation of family as those involved were taken away from their families and led to bodily and psychological harm of the slave victims. Different individuals who practiced or are practicing slave trade are unethical because the act of slavery itself is morally wrong in different parts of the world. In as much the precolonial slave trade has been abolished and in different parts of the world like in America and descents of the slaves set free. Associated impacts of the slavery during the past times has greatly influenced the relationship of the descendants with other citizens in the country who were not slaves. Moreover, the issue of modern day slavery is an issue which is affecting us and should not be ignored because the impacts associated to slavery is always dehumanizing for any human irrespective of the race or gender to pass through as it affects the individuals both physically, psychologically and emotionally. Therefore, leaders and citizens should make it their obligation to find different solutions on how to improve the situation to stop human trafficking or slave trade happening today and to assist those who have passed through the slavery experience. Bibliography CLINTON, C., & SILBER, N. (2006). Battle Scars Gender and Sexuality in the American Civil War. New York, Oxford University Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=271050. CAMPBELL, G., MIERS, S., & MILLER, J. C. (2007). Women and slavery. Athens, Ohio University Press. MANN, K. (2007). Slavery and the birth of an African city Lagos, 1760-1900. Bloomington, Ind, Indiana University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A N=225221. FOX-GENOVESE, E. (1988). Within the plantation household: Black and White women of the Old South. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press. Read More