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Rape Racism And The Myth Of The Black Rapists Summary

487 Words2 Pages

In Chapter 11 titled "Rape, Racism, and the Myth of the Black Rapist" Davis convincingly illustrates the deep ideological links between sexism, class-bias and racism. She achieves this by showing how the black rapist myth evolved into a ideological support for the lynching of black men. Davis explains that lynching was justified as a way of protecting white women form being raped.Yet at the exact same time black women were routinely sexual assaulted by their white male employers, just as they where before emancipation by the slave owners. This excellently highlights to what degree black women were marginalized from society even when compared to other women. Davis provides adequate evidence to support the notion that the violent percussion …show more content…

But, rather the focus was on protecting white women, particularly the virtuous upper-class white women, from the threat of black men. This is where Davis highlights the class contention. The women of the upper class are better regarded and cared for than that of the labor class.Davis reveals that as more and more black men where lynched on dubious charges, and as the feminist movement embraced these measures, black women distanced themselves from the anti-rape campaign. Consequently, the anti-rape movement proceeded without the support of some of the most prevalent victims of sexual violence. In this regard it becomes evident that Davis' theme of intersectionality is most applicable. In this Davis finds the evidence needed to justify her scathing critic of the American feminist movement. She proves that the assumed gender-based hegemony is repeatedly and severely undercut by the internalization of quasi white supremacy, the acceptance of the black rape myth and the decision to promote class and racial solidarity at the expense of gender solidarity during a time of high racial tensions. Davis' point is well taken here because she use the road map of history to drive to her conclusion. She shows that the women's rights movement is unable or unwilling to separate itself from the white middle class

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