Objectification of Black Women & Black Womanism v. Feminism

     

           In Western culture women of color are often stigmatized and portrayed negatively which causes countless issues within many power structures in society. The symbols associated with black women create dichotomies and major division in Black America which are constantly at battle with one another in the new media of the black millennial generation. The “hypersexualization” of women of color throughout time is problematic due to how Black women are presented on a grand scale. The control of the Black women’s image has been prevalent since women of color were on slave plantations prior to Reconstruction. The conceptualization of women of color and the images associated with them have been in the hands of the white male power structure. In the age of new media and throughout time following Reconstruction Black women have slowly and steadily began to control their own images.

            The omnipresent lens of white patriarchy has led women of color to be stigmatized as countless archetypes ranging from: the “Jezebel”, the “mammy “ and  the “Venus Hottentot”. Each of these stereotypes holds historical context and they all also play a role in today’s mass media due to the shows and movies which are released in Western society. The symbiotic relationship between white women and black women created feminism and later womanism which both are movements necessary to understand a Black women’s fight for respect in the American power structure.

            The weak images associated with white women on plantations and in professional settings are what first contributed to the “Jezebel” image of Black women. “The pervasive connection of black women’s bodies with the uncivilized” is explored by Deborah Gray White in Ar’n’t I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South. In this work of literature White discusses the control exerted over black women at the hands of the slave owners and their white wives or mistresses. This power structure often left Black women as appearing to be oversexed women with an animalistic sex drive due to the violent rape culture which existed on plantations in the South and the North. Most mistresses pushed the agenda of white power over the individuals they owned by forcing the Black women to “hide their true selves” (White). White expresses that Black women were silenced in early American literature. She states that “African and African American women were not born degraded but rendered so by enslavement” (8).

            A woman who was discredited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation years ago is the talented Josephine Baker. The Harlem Renaissance contributed to her fame. As an international star, Baker was viewed by many as ‘hypersexualized’. This is interesting because as a woman of color, Baker took control of her own image. This discredits the “Jezebel” archetype and deems it invalid. Baker was viewed as a threat during her prominence due to arising political consciousness amongst many. Her performances were moving and she was world renowned as an icon due to her talents. Baker’s performance attire to some could be viewed as examples of the “Jezebel” archetype to some but her full control of her body image deem this reasoning to be false.

            The “Mammy” is an archetypal exaggeration of Black women as servant of white homes. American slavery and its roots is how this archetype was derived due to the close relationship Black women had to their slave owners. This archetype is unsexual and it symbolizes that the Black “Mammy” wished to be ever-pleasing in all aspects in the eyes of the white family she worked for either for pay or without pay. In Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought this archetype was used as justification of exploitation of house slaves (Collins 72). This dramatic archetype is problematic because it is unrealistic for how many Black women feel about white families currently.

            In nineteenth century England, Sara Baartman was symbolized as a “Venus Hottentot”. She was taken from the Cape Colony in South Africa to London, England where she was displayed due to her abnormally large buttocks and sexual organs. Baartman was said to have suffered from “steatopygia (an enlargement of the buttocks) and an elongation of the labia (thus named the “Hottentot Apron”)” according to Zine Magubane in WHICH BODIES MATTER? Feminism, Poststructuralism, Race, and the Curious Theoretical Odyssey of the “Hottentot Venus”. Magubane explores this case as one of the major points of history proving the abuse of Black women’s bodies; Baartman later had a “premature death and subsequent dissection at the hands of Georges Cuvier, a French anatomist (Magubane 817).

The “hypersexualization” of Baartman is similar to how women of color are still viewed currently in the mass media. Women like the entertainer Robin “Rihanna” Fenty, actress Kerry Washington and the entertainer Beyonce Knowles are deemed as overly sexual beings according to popular culture.  The “Jezebel” and “Venus Hottentot” archetypes can be applied to each of these women due to how the media presents them on a global platform. Each of these women takes control of their images similar to Josephine Baker. As women of color they push the agenda by portraying alter egos on stage, in music or on shows which broadcast to millions of viewers.

 None of these women of color have come out and blatantly expressed to be womanists or feminists but their actions push the agendas of second and third waves of feminism. Rihanna Fenty, a Barbados native as a young woman is viewed as highly sexual to many viewers and listeners. As an entertainer she currently wears questionable clothing and within her lyrics she is sexually free. In the beginning of her career she was not viewed in this light but the mass media has exposed her sexual deviance and highlighted her relations with a few notable stars.

On the other end of the spectrum is Beyonce Knowles, a Texas native who has been under the eyes of the mass media for over 9 years as a solo artist. With the release of her most recent album which self-titled she was under a lot of scrutiny due to numerous singles she released. Being sexually free was problematic in the eyes of the media and despite being a married woman with a child, she was still scrutinized and shamed for releasing songs which proved she was sexually liberated like “Partition” and “Blow”.

Kerry Washington is an actress who is from the Bronx, New York. She has received critical acclaim for her roles in films like Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Ray and the independent film Night Catches Us. Since 2012 Kerry Washington has been the leading actress on ABC’s political drama, Scandal. She has received much negative scrutiny for playing a sexual yet powerful role on this show which gets millions of views a week when it airs on ABC. Her decision to play this role while capturing a loyal audience and fan-base are monumental.

To further understand the mass media’s scrutiny of these three women, one must understand the history Western culture has with feminism in reference to the Black women and her image throughout time. In Western literature, womanism and feminism are terms which derive from the part of literary criticism know as gender criticism. The differences between these two terms create dichotomies which are constantly at battle in the new media of the black millennial generation. Brown women at many times in history are left in the margins of feminism and must fend for themselves. The strength and knowledge of this led to black feminist thought and the term womanism.

Black thinkers such as Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Patricia Hill Collins and bell hooks contribute to the scholarly works, evaluations and overall beliefs known as womanism. Some of these women became vocal in the 1970s and by doing so established the Black women’s point of view. These thinkers believe women of color should be knowledgeable of what it means to be to empower herself in the midst of being marginalized in Western culture.

In an essay defining Black feminism Ula Taylor breaks down the constructs of gender and socialization of women of color. Some Black women according to Taylor have desensitized their beliefs despite being a woman of color trapped by society’s power structure. By not accepting feminism at all Black women have a feminine body but do not possess a feminist consciousness (Taylor 18). Taylor describes the two periods which led to Black feminism which include: the abolitionist movement and the “modern civil rights movement” (Taylor 18). The movement of Black feminism has caused a particular consciousness amongst Black women who strive for equality by any means necessary.

Kimberly Springer expresses the reactions to feminists and their writings during the 1970s and 1990s in an essay in an article titled Third Wave Black feminism? Noticing their similarities is necessary to be noticed by the millennial generation. By “theorizing race and gender oppression” these two eras of feminists intersect according to Springer. A major issue the writer states includes Black feminists despising sexism while highlighting and showcasing their love for Black men. (1060). There are three texts which Springer believes developed three important themes Black feminists must acknowledge as making up the third wave of feminism with “second wave theoretical underpinnings” (1060). The three themes include: “young Black women’s relationship to our personal and political histories, Black women’s relationship to self and Black women’s relationships to Black men” (1060).

Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Black feminism among African Americans by Evelyn Simien is a feminist essay in which Simien states her ideals on black feminist consciousness. She expresses that Black women are doubly attacked by social constructs, gender constructs. By being “status deprived” according to Simien women of color do not make up a piece of what Western culture would like to see flourish and grow powerful. Statistics from the 1970s prove that Black women did not associate themselves with feminism because the dialogue surrounding this term did not speak truth to their struggles. Some statistics from the past which are stated in the essay prove that statistically speaking, Black women’s representation versus white women shows a huge gap, Black women were unequally misrepresented (316). Sex equality amongst Black women and white women doesn’t exist according to Simien and bell hooks cited within the essay.

With the knowledge of sexual and unsexual archetypes, womanism, feminism and the overall objectification of women of color are terms which hold weight. To understand the negative connotation associated with blackness Black woman must educate themselves to understand the agenda of the mass media. Controlling your own self-image is powerful and necessary and the millennial generation must realize this or our self-image and consciousness will continue to be tarnished and controlled by the media. Eradicating the negative archetypes and by not embracing the negative images will empower the Black women wholly.

Works Cited

Magubane, Zine, WHICH BODIES MATTER? Feminism, Poststructuralism, Race, and the Curious Theoretical Odyssey of the “Hottentot Venus” The University of Illinois, Urbana. Print.

Simien, Evelyn M. Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Black feminism among African Americans. Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 119, No. 2 (Summer, 2004), pp. 315-338. Print.

Springer, Kimberly. Third Wave Black feminism? Signs, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer 2002), pp. 1059-1082. The University of Chicago Press. Print.

Taylor, Ula Y.  “MAKING WAVES: THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF BLACK FEMINISM” The Black Scholar, Vol. 28, No. 2, BLACK SOCIAL ISSUES (SUMMER 1998), pp. 18-28. Print.

White, Deborah G. Ar'n't I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South. New York: Norton, 1985. Print.