Deborah White's Aren T I A Wom Female Slaves In The Plantation South
analytical Essay
982 words
Deborah Gray White in Aren’t I a Woman: Female Slaves in the Plantation South theorizes that black women in the plantation south were the most vulnerable group in early America. These were black women in a white Southern society, slaves in a free American society, and women in a society ruled by men which gave them the least power and the most vulnerability in the plantation south. Their degradation was the result of American stigmas that understood black women as being promiscuous, licentious females who had high birth rates as well as a high pain tolerance. Although black women were seen as a part of the weaker sex, they were not seen as being as not seen as ineffectual. These women were sold for their abilities that include, but are not …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how deborah gray white in aren't i a woman: female slaves in the plantation south theorizes that black women were the most vulnerable group in early america.
- Analyzes how deborah white's "jezebel and mammy: the mythology of female slavery" describes the multifaceted identity of the black female slave.
- Analyzes how deborah white uses historical references to justify the treatment of black women.
- Analyzes how deborah white describes the realm in which women lived and supported one another. she points out that slavery was harder on women than men due to their childbearing abilities.
- Analyzes how deborah white's argument lacks various supports because of the cyclical topics of women and the value of their fertility to plantation owners.
- Analyzes how deborah gray white's aren't i a woman: female slaves in the plantation south contains information from diverse sources.
- Analyzes how deborah white could have shortened the book by excluding chapters three and four without losing the historical context of her work.
Deborah White uses various examples of situations regarding these characterizations from other pieces of work such as “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, interviews, and other historical references. Through these examples, Deborah White is able to effectively relay, through historical context, how these women struggled with the assumption that all black female slaves were “Jezebels” until proven otherwise. Regarded as highly sexual women, those who were categorized as a “Jezebel” woman initially started because of African traditions prior to their enslavement and also excused “miscegenation, the sexual exploitation of black women, and the mulatto population”. Deborah White argues that these women faced a very unique situation because their sexual behavior could result in being treated better or worse, depending on the situation and the master; because population growth was inevitable, white men seemed to believe that this proved their “lewd and licentious behavior”. Also, the conditions in which these women lived “helped imprint the Jezebel image on the white mind” even though this environment was created by these men “which ensured female slave behavior fulfilled their expectations”. In contrast to the “Jezebel” figure, white men also created the “Mammy” figure who was a loyal servant to the white family as well as a surrogate mother for the both black and white children. This position for a black female slave helped “endorse the service of black women in Southern households” (61). Therefore, both of these characterizations were to justify the treatment of black
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- The Impact Of Southern Women's Use Of Slavery On Southern Womenexplanatory essayEssentially southern women had little to no power outside of their domestic homes, and supported slavery as a means to escape the domestication that was demanded by the Antebellum South, by relying on the use of their slaves to handle women 's domestic chores and duties, while they focused on appearing as the ideal southern wife. The only way for women to escape their domestic responsibilities while keeping their image of a good wife, was through the purchase and use of slaves for their domestic chores.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that southern mistresses were able to obtain complete atanomy over their lives, home, business and children, with the help of their slaves.
- Explains how the civil war and the fall of the confederate states of america destroyed the hopes of thousands of southern women.
- Explains that southern women supported slavery as a means to escape the domestication that was demanded by the antebellum south.
- Explains that southern women idolized the confederacy by writing skewed accounts about the civil war.
1727 wordsRead More - Black Women Stereotypesanalytical essay“Portraying African-American women as stereotypical mammies, matriarchs, welfare recipients, and hot mommas helps justify U.S. black women’s oppression” (Patricia Hill Collins, Feminist Thought Sister Citizen 51). In early American history, racial stereotypes played a significant role in shaping the attitude African Americans. Stereotypes such a mammy, jezebel, sapphire and Aunt Jemimah were used to characterize African American women. Mammy was a black masculine nursemaid who was in charge of the white children. The stereotype jezebel, is a woman who wants sex all the time. White Americans saw black women as loose, oversexed and immoral. This stereotype still lives today because men especially whites look for black women to be their prostitutes.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how racism impacted the lives of black women. the media stereotyped african american women as loud, argumentative, irrationally angry and verbally abusive.
- Analyzes dr. maya angelou's poem still i rise summarizing the stereotypes and the shaming of our country on black women.
- Analyzes how racial stereotypes were used to characterize african-american women, such as mammy, jezebel, sapphire, and aunt jemimah.
- Explains that white people looked down upon blacks and felt as if they were inferior to them. blacks were born into slavery and were beaten brutally.
966 wordsRead More - Unruly Women Analysisanalytical essayThese were women who weren’t directly under the supervision of a white male; and were thought to be a threat to the social order. Free black women regardless of their economic standing or family situations were suspect along with poor white women who either bore children out of wedlock, or had black lovers. To antebellum society motherhood is thought of as the most noble calling for southern white women, but becomes the “most appalling system of degradation when occurred outside marriage”(p.2). Interracial sexual relations are “regarded as the greatest moral outrage against [antebellum] society” (p.69) Poor women during this time often broke the norm of this times female behavior, and were the most likely to engage in an interracial social or sexual relationship. The respected white women in the community would often refer to these women as “vile”, “lewd”, and “vicious” “products of an inferior strain of humanity” (p. 90). While these relationships were seen as being unmoral, whenever a white man had a sexual relationship with a black women he had little to no fear of disapproval from society as long as the woman was still treated as a black women instead of getting the respect that was reserved for white women. Women were often harassed by court officials threatening charges of prostitution, bastardy, or fornication they then would assume the role of the patriarch and attempt to forcibly
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes bynum's unruly women: the politics of social and sexual control in the old south.
- Analyzes how bynum uses newspapers, decades' worth of court records, and culling manuscript census schedules from three specific counties in north carolina to gather her information.
- Analyzes how bynum shows the struggles of white women, black enslaved women and free black women in the same analytic category.
- Analyzes how the north carolina supreme court denied legal separations and divorces to women trapped in abusive, degrading marriages.
- Analyzes how the second category of antebellum women contained both black women and white women, who were considered a threat to the social order.
- Analyzes how the civil war upset the boundaries of gender and race in the south. the confederacy began to try to control the enslaved and poor females rather than earn their support.
- Analyzes how black and unmarried poor white women in north carolina contributed to the internal chaos that by 1863 had sapped the strength of the confederacy.
- Analyzes how unruly women challenged the sacred beliefs that underpinned the slave order, and that slavery was not the natural condition for blacks.
1600 wordsRead More - Deborah Gray White’s Ar’n’t I a Woman?analytical essayDeborah Gray White’s Ar’n’t I a Woman? details the grueling experiences of the African American female slaves on Southern plantations. White resented the fact that African American women were nearly invisible throughout historical text, because many historians failed to see them as important contributors to America’s social, economic, or political development (3). Despite limited historical sources, she was determined to establish the African American woman as an intricate part of American history, and thus, White first published her novel in 1985. However, the novel has since been revised to include newly revealed sources that have been worked into the novel. Ar’n’t I a Woman? presents African American females’ struggle with race and gender through the years of slavery and Reconstruction. The novel also depicts the courage behind the female slave resistance to the sexual, racial, and psychological subjugation they faced at the hands of slave masters and their wives. The study argues that “slave women were not submissive, subordinate, or prudish and that they were not expected to be (22).” Essentially, White declares the unique and complex nature of the prejudices endured by African American females, and contends that the oppression of their community were unlike those of the black male or white female communities.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how deborah gray white's ar'n't i a woman? details the grueling experiences of the african american female slaves on southern plantations.
- Analyzes how white illustrates the europeans' two major stereotypes of african american females, jezebel and mammy, which served as slave holders’ excuse for the sexual exploitation of female slaves.
- Analyzes how white explores the master's sexual exploitation of their female slaves, and proves this method of oppression to be the defining factor of what sets the females apart from their male counterparts.
- Analyzes how white examines the differences between white and african american females, and the treatment they received from the white male dominant society.
- Analyzes white's detailed analysis of the major aspects of female slaves' lives, including their family life, marital roles, and their reliance on the slave community.
- Concludes the novel with an examination of the african american females' struggle for freedom. white summarises the many obstacles black women faced, beginning with the civil war, continuing into the years of reconstruction, and ending with civil rights.
- Explains that white employs a wide range of historical accounts to present an unbiased historical record of what took place during the years of slavery.
- Analyzes how white conveys her subject matter in a graceful manner, without the use of difficult or technical vocabulary. each chapter title is indicative of the exact information covered in that chapter.
- Analyzes how white builds strong support for the novel's theme with every chapter. she writes every proposal with the purpose of reinforcing the theme.
- Analyzes how white challenges the reader to set aside all preconceived notions of black women and to consider that society's knowledge of african american women’s history has, in many ways, been manipulated by historians.
- Opines that deborah gray white's writing has the power to transform her readers' understanding, emotions, and opinions. if it doesn't completely change your opinion of slavery and leave you with a richer appreciation for the resilience demonstrated by the female slaves, it is official.
1623 wordsRead More - Slavery Is Terrible For Women, By Harriet A. Jacobsanalytical essayIn fact, women had to carry with the pain of having their children wrenched from them. Women were forced to be “breeders” they were meant to bear children to add to their master’s “stock”, but they were denied the right to care for them. It was not something unusual to happen to these women it was considered normal. The master didn’t believe the female slaves had feelings, or the right to ruin their merchandise. It was also not unusual for the plantation master to satisfy his sexual lust with his female slaves and force them to have his children. Children that were born from these unions were often sold to protect the honor and dignity of the slave owner’s wife, who would be forced to face the undeniable proof of her husband’s lust for “black women.”
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacob's story focuses on the rights that women should have to protect their families and raise their children.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs' story shows the pain she suffered as a female slave, but also showed the strength she proved to have within herself.
- Explains that the slave owner's wife was his "possession", but his slaves were also his possessions. women were dependent on their husbands, so they had to be kept in their place.
- Opines that it is hard to believe that all these women, slave and white, had no voice they had to ignore and keep silence about every horrible thing that happened around them.
- Explains that enslaved women were often used as "breeders" because they bore pain and were denied the right to care for their children.
1098 wordsRead More - The Importance of Gender, Race and Reproduction in Laboring Women by Jennifer Morgananalytical essayIn Laboring Women by Jennifer Morgan, the author talks about the transformations African Women suffer as they become slaves in America. The author explains how their race, gender and even their reproduction of African women became very important in the sex/gender system. She explains the differences of European, African and Creole and how their role was fit and fix in the sex/gender system in regards of production, body and kinship. Morgan explains the correlation of race and reproduction as well as how this affected the Atlantic World. She also explains the differences between whites and blacks and how they experience reproduction differently. Morgan also elaborates on how sex is a sexual disclosure. This gave us the conclusion on how the ideologies of race and reproduction are central to the organization of slavery.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jennifer morgan's book laboring women explains the transformations african women suffer as slaves in america.
- Analyzes the differences between african, european and creole women in the sex/gender system. europeans are patriarchal while africans have a matrilineal in where women have more control.
- Analyzes how morgan's sex/gender system explains the correlation between race and reproduction.
- Analyzes how jennifer morgan explains how race became a sexual disclosure. the significance of sex, bodies and reproduction came to play an important role during slavery.
- Concludes that all these factors during the 18th century were important for the lives of women. discrimination against a different race, separation of gender, and myths about reproduction because of race were part of what african women and creole women had to suffer and deal with.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs incidents in the life of a slave girl explores the struggles and sexual abuse that female slaves faced on plantations as well as their efforts to practice motherhood.
- Analyzes how the desire for a comfortable and safe home runs throughout the book, reflecting the notion of domesticity that would have been familiar to jacobs’s mostly white female readers in the nineteenth century.
- Analyzes how linda avoids being a slave by the grace of her own intellect. she does not condemn slaves for illegal or immoral acts such as theft or adultery, but argues that the slave system dehumanizes them.
- Analyzes how jacobs' work reflects the antebellum era, pre-civil war in america, and the cult of true womanhood.
1019 wordsRead More - Jezebel Stereotypesanalytical essayThe Jezebel was another origin of the hypersexual nature of African American women. This stereotype developed after Sarah Baartman era. The term jezebel is heard in the Bible.“The negative jezebel stereotype also has a long history in American culture. She is usually a young, exotic, promiscuous, oversexed woman who uses sexuality to get attention, love, and material goods”(Tyree, p.398). Being defined as one’s body was not enough, the jezebel ideal elevated. Sexual assault took over and women were left dealing with the title of, jezebels who wanted this type of behavior happen to them. Understanding that rape was not illegal when the victim was an African American woman. History points to the fact that “white men were probably never convicted
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the negative jezebel stereotype developed after the sarah baartman era. it was a young, promiscuous, oversexed woman who used sexuality to get attention and material goods.
- Explains that the angry black woman theme has taken over media outlets, especially television. the origins of this ideal came from the image of the sapphire.
- Opines that reality television shows and sitcom-dramas have taken the world by storm. they are being created to keep audiences programmed to believe the stereotypes of african american women.
- Explains that love and hip hop is a vh1 reality television show that showcases the lives of majority african american cast of hip hop artists or producers and their significant others.
- Analyzes how hypersexualization took place throughout all of the seasons, using these women as tools on camera to broadcast a stereotype of minority women.
- Analyzes how tahiry jose's life adds a new element to hypersexualization. she is curvaceous and has one of the most sexually attractive bodies in the hip hop world.
- Analyzes how the puerto rican princess, joseline, is a stripper, now turned rapper, looking for love and help recording an album. stevie j controls her career, but still uses her as his sexual object on the show.
- Analyzes how the hit thursday night duo, scandal and how to get away with murder, have a similar theme of the angry black woman main character.
- Analyzes how scandal depicts a powerful african american woman who can fix problems. olivia pope is aggressive, hard-working, emasculating, and tough.
- Analyzes how annalise's persona of being a tough, hard, book smart teacher and lawyer has helped push the show further.
- Analyzes how annalise battles with the issue of embracing her family past. understanding her childhood allows audiences to connect the dots to understand how she became the woman she is.
- Analyzes how natalie nunn is an example of how hypersexualization and the angry black woman is a vital element to the show.
- Analyzes how being mary jane tells the story of a woman on the mission to be the best daytime news anchor, family member, and woman.
- Analyzes mary jane's lack of anger management at work, with her family, friends, and even with herself. this show takes in stride this idea of the "good girl/bad girl" as well, packing it in a different way.
- Opines that african american women should have the luxury of being able to see themselves in the roles just like other dominant groups do.
- Opines that the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. there needs to be more complex, less sexualized, and versatile roles for african american women.
2557 wordsRead More - Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girlanalytical essayA recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs's reflections on slavery and bondage are recurring themes in incidents in the life of a slave girl.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs was born with a mind that only told her place in the world was that of the little girl. she had no capacity to understand the hardships that she inherited.
- Analyzes how harriet's view of death changed as she experienced the evils of bondage. the conflict in her mind must have been divisive because she valued life.
- Opines that harriet's upbringing was an important reason for why she was so elusive in her description of the raping.
- Analyzes how harriet was torn between the value of life and the freedom of death. she fell in love with a young man that gave her hope for freedom.
- Analyzes jacobs, harriet, and gates' the classic slave narratives.
1478 wordsRead More - Negligence Argument Analysisanalytical essayWomen complaining of sexual harassment or any sexually abusive act are attacked on the negligence argument as being liable to revealing oneself to foreseen dangers. The argument mistakenly assumes that the victim is a willing participant in whichever unfolding trial of sexual harassment. Jezebel and Mammy are figures used to symbolize the stereotypes attached to African American women, with Jezebel likened to the biblical evil woman. She is described as being appealing and sexually immoral with every of her actions ensuing from an aspect of lust. This black woman is depicted as one with a starving dehydration for sex that can’t be satisfied by black men. In the publication, it is argued that black women sought after colorless men therefore
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how women complaining of sexual harassment are attacked on the negligence argument as being liable to revealing oneself to foreseen dangers. jezebel and mammy symbolize stereotypes attached to african american women.
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