African men only adopted a protector role toward all Black women after slavery

Evidence

Staples’ argument is based on the assumption that enslaved black men felt responsible for all black women and were demoralized because of their inability to act as protectors—an assumption that has not been substantiated by historical evidence. An examination of many traditional African societies’ attitudes toward women reveals that African men were not taught to see themselves as the protectors of all women. They were taught to assume responsibility for the particular women of their tribe or community. The socialization of African men to see themselves as the “owners” of all black women and to regard them as property they should protect occurred after the long years of slavery and as the result of bonding on the basis of color rather than shared tribal connection or language. Prior to their adoption of white American sexist attitudes toward women, there was no reason for enslaved African men to feel responsible for all enslaved African women. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 104

Categorization

• QUESTION: The claim that African men had no collective protector duty before slavery is asserted rather than sourced here — worth checking the historical anthropology.
• XREF: connects to: Enslaved Black men prioritized self-preservation over protecting Black women — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 104; Enslaved black people internalized their owners’ patriarchal sex roles — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 154; Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery (+2 more)

Related

• Enslaved Black men prioritized self-preservation over protecting Black women (similarity 0.88)
• Slavery stripped black men of patriarchy but not of masculinity. (similarity 0.87)
• Black slave gender roles replicated white patriarchal divisions of labor (similarity 0.84)
• Black women’s exploitation is better described as masculinization than black men’s de-masculinization. (similarity 0.84)
• Black men asserted patriarchy to compensate for losing status to white men (similarity 0.83)
• Black men asserted dominance over women to compensate for losing to white men (similarity 0.83)
• African women’s accustomed labor made them ideal plantation slaves. (similarity 0.83)
• Enslaved black people internalized their owners’ patriarchal sex roles (similarity 0.83)
• White women, not white men, were slavery’s most direct beneficiaries (similarity 0.83)
• Black men claimed sole victimhood and manhood rights while ignoring black women’s oppression. (similarity 0.82)
• Black male leaders granted women rights while keeping men superior authorities. (similarity 0.82)
• Linda Brent’s narrative documents enslaved men’s failure to protect their women (similarity 0.81)
• Black men’s alienation stemmed from Black women having any power at all (similarity 0.81)
• Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery (similarity 0.81)
• Sexism made the black female slave’s lot harsher than the male’s (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Black slave gender roles replicated white patriarchal divisions of labor #corroborates (0.60) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 144
• Enslaved black people internalized their owners’ patriarchal sex roles #qualifies (0.55) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 154
• Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery #complicates (0.50)
• Black men asserted dominance over women to compensate for losing to white men #expands (0.50)