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Patricia H. Collins Why Black Sexual Politics Analysis

828 Words4 Pages

Race and sexuality are sometimes perceived as exclusive of one another; a person has a racial identity and a separate sexual identity. In mainstream society, the default racial identity is White and the default sexual identity is heterosexual, while other racial and sexual identities are seen as marginal. This can be detrimental for individuals with intersecting marginalized identities, such as a lesbian Argentinian woman or a bisexual Black man. Although it is easier to view race and sexuality as separate concepts, race and sexuality are deeply connected to each other, and they influence one another as well. Racist ideologies shape the perceptions of the sexualities of different racial and ethnic groups, which in turn affect how individuals in these …show more content…

Collins discusses the association of Black women with an animalistic, uncivilized sexuality. Collins states that the depiction of Black individuals as hypersexual compared to White persons “served as a sign of racial differences used to justify the […] belief in the superiority of White civilization” (Collins, 2005). Black women are perceived as sexual objects to be enjoyed, primarily by White men, while the sexuality of Black men is seen as dangerous. Collins argues that “this discourse of Black sexuality to create tightly bundled ideas of Black femininity and Black masculinity […] influenced racial ideologies and racial practices,” upon which the discrimination and mistreatment of Black individuals relies (Collins, 2005). Furthermore, in order to distance themselves from the harmful stereotype that Black sexuality is depraved, many Black individuals have overcompensated and adhered to the belief that sex is solely procreative, heterosexual, and “is only valid within the confines of heterosexual marriage” (Collins, 2005). In other words, many Black Americans have repressed their sexuality, and Black politics has largely remained silent on issues of gender and

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A relevant example of this point is the derogatory icons of Black Women - Jezebel, Mammy, Aunt Jemima, Matriarch, and Welfare Queens (Roberts, 8). Each of these icons is rooted in the deep mythology that applies racial politics to black women by corrupting the reproduction process at

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On the other hand, there have been cases in which Latinos and Asians have either been categorized as either “black” or “white,” with no in-between. This shows that it is possible to see how the black-white binary takes precedence over one;s ethnicity. In the process, the identities of different people from different backgrounds are narrowed down to either being categorized as “white” or non-white (“black”), and ultimately being marginalized as

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Black women are one of the most oppressed groups in the world. Black women have to deal with discrimination because of their race, and then on top of that, their gender. There are many movements/ideologies involved with the oppression of women, but there is one that really speaks in the interests of women of African descent. In the article “Africana Womanism: The Flip Side of a Coin,” Clenora Hudson-Weems discusses what Africana womanism is and how it relates to feminism/black feminism/womanism, Black male/female relationships, and the Black family dynamic. Hudson-Weems argues that Africana womanism is not an addition to feminism, womanism, or Black feminism, but instead it is an ideology for women of African descent to follow.

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In America, at the intersection of race and gender lies a deadly dance for Black men. The media frequently demonizes them. Examples include Michael Brown being described as a ‘demon’ by the officer who shot him. Other attempts at defiling Black men paint them as criminals, and innately violent. Walter’s mistake was his relationship with a white woman.

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Morgan compares the historical account of black women in the antebellum south who were considered oversexed mistresses and whores to white slave masters. She exposes the brutality of black women, as they were considered strong for to taking it. This unrealistic myth of a strong black woman continues today while ignoring the fact they are not exempt from pain, they learn to adapt for survival. According to Morgan, black women are just as endangered as black men with illness, drugs and death. In the section of endangered black men, Morgan is unsympathetic of the black woman’s attitude toward black men and believes they are no difference than a white racist by not seeing the black men’s beauty and worth.

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Not approaching the traditional look on feminism, but looking at the internal approach of gender and races roles, she crafts an argument to explore pleasure rather than solely pain. In the first chapter of this work, Archives of Pain she utilizes seminal works of Black Feminist to collectively analyze how traditional Black feminist theory sees the dominant representation of Black women. Through the lens of bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, Janell Hobson, Cox, Carla Williams, and several others Nash presents the common argument amongst these Black Feminist writers is that visually the dominant representation inflicts violence of the Black female body. With a background in sociology, Nash breaks down this chapter in four sections and explains representation as pedagogy, as temporal practice, as metonymy, and as a site for recovery.

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Initially, the book began with mentioning the horrifying incidents of rapes, whipping and auctioning of female black slaves, and contrasted the way of how white southerner females were shielded from becoming a subject of perversion. As supported by White’s words, “Southerner white women were kept free and pure from taint of immorality, because black women acted as a buffer against their degradation” (19). It has been proved by this statement that black women had been mistreated by the Whites Southerners and there was no law and order system to grant them justice. On the contrary, the manner of protecting their white women/ wives depicted that even White Southerners considered this as an act of humiliation. Later, the focus shifted to making motherhood as the primary goal for the young black women, and the author also disclosed some life details of the elderly women.

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The black body serves as a symbol for every black man and women who have undergone the mistreatment of themselves and their people as an entirety. Moreover, America often blames not itself, but black body: “... America might justify itself, the story of a black body’s destruction mus have always become with his or her error…” (Coates 96). The ever present theme of injustice to the black person is obvious in this instance. Americans as a general society, have always found some way to blame the black person themselves through their bodies.

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She struggles against sexual objectification and exploitation. Through Helga’s fight for sexual autonomy, the book illustrates two stereotypes of African American females which prevail throughout the literature. The novel depicts limitations of stereotypes held across Europe and the United States. The stereotypes’ pervasiveness is conveyed via constant change of settings. For instance, it criticizes reactionary stereotypes that treated sex with reticence and caution to counterbalance literary and social myths about sexuality of the black women.

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The example of this is African American in the 1900s who lived in a white neighborhood but they can’t identify with whites because the color of their skin. They cannot identify with blacks because he lives in a white neighborhood. They are alienated from their community and their “race”. People are alienated because of the double consciousness they do not know what to identify with. This can be said about sexuality where their double consciousness struggles to find their identity because of the norms that are in placed in their environment.

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Whenever there was an incidence of rape reported, sardonically the victim (black woman) was deemed responsible because she was perceived as the initiator. A sadistic twist to this situation was that the white man was perceived unsafe from a black women's unwanted sexual advances (Manatu, 2002). Often the perpetrators of sexual abuse were in the position of power in the society, therefore they did not have any effective means to tell the world what they were going through. The impact of sexual violence is unique to every community. The black community faces many barriers in coping with the aftermath of sexual violence because of dealing with the pre-existing vulnerabilities and preconceived notions about their

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They argue that conceptions are frequently portrayed as containing a "knel of verity" grounded on overgeneralized compliances. Conceptions have the eventuality to uphold systemic oppression across societal surrounds. They add that in the antebellum period, conceptions of strength and imperviousness to pain and anxiety were used to justify heinous medical trials on enslaved Black women. similar conceptions are pervasive in society and frequently shape comprehensions and relationships. Black people in the U.S. continue to be hackneyed as angry, lazy, hostile, and strong immortalizing sundries when Black citizens kick racism.

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All people, cultures, and societies understand what it means to come of age, to leave their sheltered environment, and discover oneself. As active participants of American society, we communicate this idea. We have a fundamental need to communicate and relate to each other through common ideologies, and the stories we tell. However, for people of color, especially African-Americans, more so, Black females, this is not so. African-Americans, especially Black females, continue to face a history of racism and oppression contributes to the challenges they face: their victimization due to the highly personal nature of sexual violence and myths about their sexual promiscuity are endless.

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Throughout history, women have been expected to play the role of the chaste, domestic wife, while putting others' needs before their own. A woman’s sexual desires and wants have fallen victim to extreme scrutiny—women are simply not supposed to have them in the first place. Therefore, those women who choose to be expressive in their sexuality have time and again been labeled as “impure” and “sluts” in the general public’s eye. Moreover, Black women who embrace their own sexuality and indulge in their sexual pleasures fall victim to an even greater amount of hostility. Historically, Black women’s bodies have often been seen as aggressively hypersexual and have been fetishized.

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That can mean race , gender, religion, or SEXUALITY!!!!! Things such as homo,bi, or transphobia change that, as well as heterosexism. Heterosixism is the assumption that heterosexual (being straight) is the “normal” sexual orientation.

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