Sexism and racism were twin oppressive forces in black women’s slave experience

Evidence

Systematic devaluation of black womanhood was not simply a direct consequence of race hatred, it was a calculated method of social control. During the reconstruction years, manumitted black people had demonstrated that given the same opportunities as whites they could excel in all areas. Their accomplishments were a direct challenge to racist notions about the inherent inferiority of dark races. In those glorious years, it seemed that black people would quickly and successfully assimilate and amalgamate into the mainstream of American culture. White people reacted to the progress of black people by attempting to return to the old social order. To maintain white supremacy they established a new social order based on apartheid. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 191 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Feminism must combat domination across sex, race, and class, not just male chauvinism — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 562; Black women’s celebrated strength gets mistaken for overcoming rather than enduring oppression; The women-and-blacks analogy erased black women by equating women with whites (+35 more)

Related

• Devaluation of black women was a deliberate method of social control (similarity 0.93)
• Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery (similarity 0.92)
• Sexism and racism together intensified black women’s oppression beyond black men’s. (similarity 0.91)
• Sexism made the black female slave’s lot harsher than the male’s (similarity 0.90)
• Understanding black women’s status requires analyzing race and sex together (similarity 0.90)
• Black women’s silence on sexism stemmed from socialization that devalued their femaleness (similarity 0.90)
• Black men asserted dominance over women to compensate for losing to white men (similarity 0.89)
• Black women experienced sexist oppression distinct from racism (similarity 0.89)
• Black women under slavery were doubly enslaved by race and sex (similarity 0.89)
• Labeling black women as sexual savages enabled their rapes by denying their humanity. (similarity 0.89)
• Enslaved black women shared racial status with men but faced sexist subordination (similarity 0.88)
• Sexual exploitation dehumanized black women more than labor exploitation did (similarity 0.88)
• Nineteenth-century black women endured double enslavement by race and sex (similarity 0.87)
• Nineteenth century black women were the most sexist-oppressed female group in America (similarity 0.87)
• Sexism and racism jointly founded the American social order from colonization (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery #corroborates (0.75)
• Devaluation of black women was a deliberate method of social control #corroborates (0.70) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 191
• Black slave women were both accomplices in and victims of patriarchy #expands (0.65)