Male Vs Female Slavery Essay

Differences between male and female slavery According to Angela Davis, male and female slaves were equal in the way that they were all equally oppressed (Davis, p.88). However, this does not mean that female and male slaves were treated equally or had the same duties. This short paper will touch upon the differences between male and female slavery, especially focusing on differences in function as well as duties, by using Davis and Deborah Gray White’s publications. The usefulness of male slaves lost some of its exceptionalism, which lead to more ‘‘equality’’. Initially, slavery relied more on male slaves than female slaves because of their strength, and this made slaves’ experiences differ (White, p.64), but later slave owners discovered …show more content…
According to Davis, slave owners’ sexual exploitation of female slaves was a method for the slave owners to regain a sense of power (p.97), as female slaves began to realize the importance of their own roles (Davis, p. 89). In contrast, sexual exploitation of male slaves was not as common, or as well-documented. Therefore, one might say that sexual exploitation forms one of the main differences between female and male slave experiences. The notion of freedom, however, might have been more applicable for male slaves rather than female slaves. According to White, female slaves were less likely to escape plantations due to responsibilities (p. 70). It was not easy for female slaves to pursue liberty as they had children to care for, therefore female slaves, unlike male slaves, faced a dilemma; they wanted to flee, but were afraid of breaking ties (White, p.74-75) From the publications of White and Davis, one can gather that female slaves had more functions and duties than did male slaves; house-keeping, child-production, and field work. These responsibilities functioned as borders between female slaves and freedom, and this border did not appear to male slaves, at least not quite as