The image of a “black matriarch” is quite widespread in American media and pop culture. This type of figure is often portrayed as a black female figure with a strong, aggressive personality who holds the illusion of authority. However, the prevalence of such an image and others concerning black women has resulted in false clichés being mistaken as truth and cementing themselves in people’s minds, leading to many misconceptions and furthering the oppression of black women. In her essay entitled “Reflections on the Role of Black Women in the Community of Slaves,” Angela Davis sought to dispel many of these myths surrounding the roles of black women during slavery and that of the black matriarchal figure. Davis challenged the idea of a black
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On page 205, Davis acknowledges that “the alleged benefits of the ideology of femininity did not accrue to [the female slave]. She was not sheltered or protected… She was also there in the fields, alongside the man, toiling from sunup to sundown.” Here Davis points out the ironic fact that slavery actually led to a sort of gender equality for female slaves, who were treated equal to their male counterparts in order to extract the maximum amount of labor from them. However, Davis also notes that this would lead to slave masters “endeavor[ing] to reestablish [the female slave’s] femaleness by reducing her to the level of her biological being” (Davis 212). In other words, women slaves were often subject to sexual assault, as in the case of Harriet Jacobs. Jacobs had her own words to say on the matter, stating that “Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own” (Jacobs 240). Although Jacobs states that she was lucky in that she did not suffer as much physical abuse as many of her fellow slaves, she does go into great detail to show that the mental and emotional anguish that many slaves (herself included) faced was equally
On page 205, Davis acknowledges that “the alleged benefits of the ideology of femininity did not accrue to [the female slave]. She was not sheltered or protected… She was also there in the fields, alongside the man, toiling from sunup to sundown.” Here Davis points out the ironic fact that slavery actually led to a sort of gender equality for female slaves, who were treated equal to their male counterparts in order to extract the maximum amount of labor from them. However, Davis also notes that this would lead to slave masters “endeavor[ing] to reestablish [the female slave’s] femaleness by reducing her to the level of her biological being” (Davis 212). In other words, women slaves were often subject to sexual assault, as in the case of Harriet Jacobs. Jacobs had her own words to say on the matter, stating that “Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own” (Jacobs 240). Although Jacobs states that she was lucky in that she did not suffer as much physical abuse as many of her fellow slaves, she does go into great detail to show that the mental and emotional anguish that many slaves (herself included) faced was equally