White women, not white men, were slavery’s most direct beneficiaries

Evidence

Consequently, it can be easily argued that even though white men institutionalized slavery, white women were its most immediate beneficiaries. Slavery in no way altered the hierarchical social status of the white male but it created a new status for the white female. The only way that her new status could be maintained was through the constant assertion of her superiority over the black woman and man. All too often colonial white women, particularly those who were slave mistresses, chose to differentiate their status from the slave’s by treating the slave in a brutal and cruel manner. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 450

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Slavery elevated white women’s social status above black people — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 449; Enslaved women absorbed anti-woman violence that white women otherwise faced — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 119; White mistresses often punished rather than protected sexually exploited slave women (+2 more)

Related

• Enslaved women absorbed anti-woman violence that white women otherwise faced (similarity 0.92)
• Slavery elevated white women’s social status above black people (similarity 0.90)
• Enslaved black women withheld the respect they granted white men from white mistresses (similarity 0.89)
• White mistresses usually sided with their husbands against enslaved women (similarity 0.89)
• White mistresses often punished rather than protected sexually exploited slave women (similarity 0.87)
• Black men asserted dominance over women to compensate for losing to white men (similarity 0.87)
• White male sexual power over slaves redirected white women’s anger onto black women (similarity 0.86)
• Enslaved women were no more sexually liberated than white women. (similarity 0.86)
• Slave sexual violence was punishment, with the master’s deviance transferred to the woman (similarity 0.86)
• Sexism made the black female slave’s lot harsher than the male’s (similarity 0.85)
• White wives sometimes encouraged their husbands to take black mistresses. (similarity 0.85)
• Enslaved people also absorbed the view of women as temptresses (similarity 0.85)
• Enslaved Black men prioritized self-preservation over protecting Black women (similarity 0.84)
• British officials equated blackness of household women with enslaved status (similarity 0.84)
• Black women’s exploitation is better described as masculinization than black men’s de-masculinization. (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• White mistresses often punished rather than protected sexually exploited slave women #corroborates (0.60)
• White mistresses usually sided with their husbands against enslaved women #corroborates (0.55) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 112
• Enslaved women absorbed anti-woman violence that white women otherwise faced #corroborates (0.50) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 119