American Slavery & Women, Material Conditions Ideologies Resistances

The Slave Trade Slavery first legalized in English Colonies in Most slaves imported from West Africa Some slaves were Native Women

Slave Trade Map

Domestic Slave Trade In 1807 the U. S. Congress made the trans-Atlantic slave trade illegal. This meant slaves born in the U.S. became the only source of slaves. This “Natural Increase” enhanced the value of female slaves. It also equalized the male-female ratio of slaves, so that unlike Latin American, in the U. S. there were as many female slaves as male.

North v. Slave Slave societies v. societies with slaves Northern states had slaves, but didn’t commit to slavery and gradually outlawed it. By 1810 there were few slaves in northern states. Southern states became committed Slave Societies, basing their economy, gender ideology, social stratification and everything else on race-based slavery.

Slave Distribution, 1850

Conditions Because slavery is essentially an ECONOMIC institution, wherein masters maximize their profit by keeping labor costs low, most slaves lived in terrible conditions.

1. Sub-standard Housing

2. Low Nutrition Food: High Carb, Low Protien, Low Vitamin Content– Women often kept gardens behind the slave quarters to augment their family’s diet.

Sub-Standard Clothing

The Work: Most Slave women worked in Agriculture– itn the fields, alongside men. They did a “Full-hand’s” work unless pregnant.

House Slaves Some Women Slaves (No more than 10%) worked as Cooks, Maids & Nannies in their Master’s Household. This work was often harder and less desirable than field work. Slave women were under constant white scrutiny in households. Female house slaves were punished more and VERY OFTEN sexually exploited.

Women’s Work: Productive and Reproductive Productive Work: What we generally think of as work. Hoeing, Picking, Planting, Laundering, Cleaning.

Reproductive Work: Slave women Made NEW SLAVES. They had little or no control over their bodies or their children. Their children were often sold away from them. Slaves were VALUABLE PROPERTY for White people who owned them.

Slave Prices, 1860

An Upside: The Strong Black Woman Slavery taught slave women to be self- reliant. Independent. Strong. While the Cult of True Womanhood encouraged white women to be dependent, submissive, weak.

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Speech 0YR1eiG0u 0YR1eiG0u (Cicely Tyson before congress version)

Slave Women and Ideology What were the ideas that allowed some white people to think enslaving women of color was good idea?

Jezebel: The Anti-True Woman First: Review... True Womanhood held that “Real Women” were 1. Submissive/Passive 2. Pious/Religious/Moral 3. Domestic: Inclined to housework and childrearing 4. Pure: Sexually pure and repulsed by sex (cause of the immorality thing).

Warning! We are about to enter Disgustingly Racist territory. This part of the lecture is about Racist Gender Ideology– NOT how black women really were. I’m going to keep the pictures to a minimum because they’re hurtful and icky.

“Jezebel” as Racist Ideology that Became Racist Stereotype Slave/Black women were Aggressive and Dominant (not Submissive). Slave/Black women were immoral (not Pious). Slave/Black Women were Not Domestic: They were slovenly and bad mothers.

And Most Significantly... Slave/Black Women were NOT Pure. They were lascivious and sexually rapacious. Slave women craved Sex. They could not be raped because they would never say NO. Jezebel is erotically appealing and tantalizing to men

Why? The Jezebel Stereotype justified slavery, and later justified institutionalized racism. Black women were NOT Real Women, so enslaving them was OK. Black women were dangerous/animalistic so slavery controlled them for the good of society.

Most Significantly: The “Jezebel” stereotype JUSTIFIED WHITE MEN’S PREDATION OF WOMEN OF COLOR. It Made the RAPE of SLAVE WOMEN ACCEPTABLE.

The Pornography of Violence

Resistance White Abolitionists used “Jezebel” Ideology to argue that Black women were Perverted by Slavery. They believed in Jezebel, but argued that Slavery was so IMORAL that it caused Imoral behavior in both Slave Women and White Masters

So Then Came “MAMMY” Mammy was the Black True Woman

Mammy Was Moral. She Was the Moral gatekeeper for her white family Mammy was Domestic. She lived to serve her white family. Mammy was Submissive, in that she might be mouthy to keep moral order, but fundamentally understood she was inferior and not in charge Mamy was Assexual. Mammy Stereotypes were not understood as married. They had no sex lives.

This is why Mammy is always Portrayed as Fat. Fat Equaled Assexual

Mammy & Jezebel Images Persist

And Now, Discuss the Book