Black Women Slavery - Essay Example

Black Women Slavery Abstract American history is marked by the history of slavery observed by White people and this list also includes the black people. The black people men and the women served equally for the American people; however, it is not wrong to say here that the oppression that black women had to face was much more and much greater as compared to what the black men were facing. Introduction There is more to the reasons as to why female Negroes were treated the way they were in the past. The biological uniqueness added more to the reasons other than just being females, being the child bearers and being Negroes. The physical characteristics that Negroes had were the convenience for the White men in that time. 1. The main rationale that can be located as to why black women were facing more than just slavery and oppression is held in the fact that they were the women with specific physical characteristics that were being taken as convenience by the men. In addition to this the fact that was mostly being enjoyed by these men was that black slave women being there to fulfill all kinds of orders for these men including being the caretaker of their children, and being slave in all manners. There were no ethical boundaries being taken into consideration curing all this especially in the case of female slaves. In those times younger girls were imported as slaves, and as companions. These were the girls who by nature were nonresistant and to a very large extent were agreeable to the situation being faced by them. The black women slaves were treated harshly and were deprived of any good services including their own privacy. The matters were in the habit of physically abusing the women, even the younger ones. Sicknesses were prevalent among these women and the higher women died because of these sicknesses. The black men can be considered to be lucky enough not to face these kinds of hardships. Men are physically stronger and they were not to face physical abuses. Although they did face the hunger and the deprivation, still the deprivation of privacy did not hurt the men as much as it did the women. 2. By the year of 1970 it has been estimated that 90% of the men were literate. In that time, a lesser percentage of the women were literate. It has been noticed that in this time the women were not being given equal rights which included the rights of freedom. The men had their own rules of strength and power. The women whether black or white were considered to be an object to be handled with power and harsh treatment. Because of all this kind of treatment, the black women and the white literate or even the illiterate women had a sense of rebelliousness to face. They felt discouraged and hurt and being treated unfairly by the men. But these were the women who were not given the chance to communicate in a proper manner with the others so that the voice of rebelliousness could reach around. The men in those days were surrounded by the ideology that women should be the ones who need to gain strength in the case of mind as well as the body as they are weak. It was believed by men that if the women are somehow treated in a soft and caring manner, that will make them even weaker. This had made the men of those times to treat the women in a much harsher manner not realizing the fact that their rights were being more than just violated in this manner. For these men, regardless of the sex and gender, the attainment of character was of much more importance than to be treated fairly. 3. The jezebel stereotype means that the black women had been represented in a way that deformed as of a character bearing women. The women were represented as one being of a lascivious nature. As a word, Jezebel means being lewd, alluring, worldly, tempting and seductive. This was the stereotype only associated with the black women while in comparison the white women were represented as a sign of respect, care and love. By some of the sociologists the Tragic Mullatoo is the concept that has been related to that of the jezebel where black women physically look like a seductive object. At the time of slavery many of the black women were sold as mullatoes. The jezebel was a way to rationalize the physical relation that was developed between black women as slaves and the white men. In this stereotype it has been said that the black women were the ones desiring for white men. Mammy is the stereotypical image of the black women that says that black women are represented as dark skinned fat women wearing an apron and the head that is always covered with a kerchief. This is the stereotype that reflects these women are not the women who desire for white women and they behave differently as the Jezebel women. These women are the caretakers of white children. The modern days have changed a lot as compared to the time of slavery. Women are stronger emotionally and are aware of their rights. These days the black women are much more respected by white men comparatively and the stereotypical images that were associated with the women have lost their worth. 4. Calling for women’s rights is a social responsibility that goes with every woman wherever she resides on the planet. The women have their own rights and they are in need to understand that and they have to raise their voices against any mistreatment inflicted upon them. There is a difference that exists between feminism and calling out for women’s rights. Calling out for women’s rights means that the men are to be made aware that they are somehow violating the women’s rights and they should be treating women in an equal and a humble manner. So the men and the women can work and live in harmony. The ideology that lies behind feminism is that women get together fighting against the men and to make them feel bad about how they have behaved with the men, how they think of themselves being privileged over the women. This is unethical and not the right way to stand up for the rights of the women and thereby the women’s rights social workers do not like to be called as feminists. Feminism in these days has got the same meanings and that is to stand up against men and this need to be changed in a humble manner. The women who think that men need to be punished for power, strength and the privileges they are given are the ones who have coined the term feminism and they are the controlling minds. 5. The talents, needs, wants and the needs in the society are reflected by the clothes that are worn by a person. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that fashion is reflective of the social change. Clothing can be considered as one of the most powerful communicator. The clothes that a person wears is actually reflective of the needs and demands of a society as well as the restrictions that are being placed on the person by the society. The women facing slavery started wearing newer costumes that were introduced at that time and one of the costumes had been known as bloomer. Women, especially those working at the suffrage, had to face the ridicule because of the bloomer as this was the costume that looked a bit strange in appearance. Some of the women started to discontinue wearing this specific costume as the costume had caused them the most of the ridicule. Although it has been noticed that this was the costume that gave greater freedom to women and the sense of being free and this was the costume that had been adopted by a large number of the black women working at the farm. Bloomer had been a sign of change in the social era and fashion in that time; it was the costume that represented the sign of freedom of black women in that time so the women can start thinking of themselves other than just being slaves. Conclusion The reason the black people were treated as slaves included their skin color and facial characteristics and this had been especially true for females. The slavery reasons in the case of females also included biological uniqueness that they held along with the mentioned reasons. Work Cited Campbell, Gwyn., Miers, Suzanne., Miller, Calder, Joseph. Women and Slavery: Africa, the Indian Ocean world, and the medieval north Atlantic. Ohio University Press, 2007 Read More