Hypersexuality stereotypes justify sexual assault of black and Latina women

Evidence

Once slavery ended and whites declared that no black woman regardless of her class status or skin color could ever be a “lady,” it was no longer socially acceptable for a white man to have a black mistress. Instead, the institutionalized devaluation of black womanhood encouraged all white men to regard black females as whores or prostitutes. Lower class white men, who had had little sexual contact with black women during slavery, were encouraged to believe they were entitled to access to the bodies of black women. In large cities their lust for black female sex objects led to the formation of numerous houses of prostitution which supplied black bodies to meet the growing demands of white men. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 195 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

All the myths and stereotypes used to characterize black womanhood have their roots in negative anti-woman mythology. Yet they form the basis of most critical inquiry into the nature of black female experience. Many people have difficulty appreciating black women as we are because of eagerness to impose an identity upon us based on any number of negative stereotypes. Widespread efforts to continue devaluation of black womanhood make it extremely difficult and oftentimes impossible for the black female to develop a positive self-concept. For we are daily bombarded by negative images. Indeed, one strong oppressive force has been this negative stereotype and our acceptance of it as a viable role model upon which we can pattern our lives. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 246 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Understanding black women’s status requires analyzing race and sex together; Rape of black women was ignored because they were seen as sexually permissive; Sexually objectifying base entertainment links to epidemic of military sexual assault (+6 more)

Related

• Institutionalized sexism protected black male sexuality while legitimizing black female assault (similarity 0.85)
• Rape of black women was ignored because they were seen as sexually permissive (similarity 0.84)
• Labeling black women as sexual savages enabled their rapes by denying their humanity. (similarity 0.83)
• Sexual exploitation dehumanized black women more than labor exploitation did (similarity 0.83)
• Historians have normalized and minimized the rape of enslaved black women. (similarity 0.83)
• Devaluation of black womanhood licensed exploitation and prostitution (similarity 0.82)
• Black women’s experiences were ignored and ridiculed as unworthy of study (similarity 0.82)
• The jezebel stereotype blamed Black women for white male sexual assault (similarity 0.82)
• Rape of black women was not a crime under slavery law (similarity 0.81)
• Sexism and racism were twin oppressive forces in black women’s slave experience (similarity 0.81)
• Negative stereotypes block Black women from developing positive self-concepts (similarity 0.80)
• Understanding black women’s status requires analyzing race and sex together (similarity 0.80)
• Rape of enslaved black women devalued black womanhood beyond slavery’s end. (similarity 0.80)
• Sexual exploitation of black women continued and was institutionalized after slavery. (similarity 0.80)
• Calling enslaved Black women prostitutes misdescribed their coerced sexual exploitation (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Rape of black women was ignored because they were seen as sexually permissive #corroborates (0.85)
• Devaluation of black womanhood licensed exploitation and prostitution #corroborates (0.72) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 195
• Negative stereotypes block Black women from developing positive self-concepts #expands (0.62) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 246
• Understanding black women’s status requires analyzing race and sex together #expands (0.60)
• Sexually objectifying base entertainment links to epidemic of military sexual assault #corroborates (0.50)