[Here is the Introduction for the Final Paper addressing Black Female Identity and Womanhood at the turn of the century.]
Historians have characterized the
late 19
th and early 20
th century as the “Nadir”, a period
of time in which African-American identity was characterized by racial
segregation, increased violence and lynching of Black men and women, and vile
attacks on black womanhood and character.
The racially based justifications for slavery translated into the post-bellum,
in which black womanhood existed within a social purgatory, neither perceived
as man or “true woman” in a societal context. As historian Evelyn Brooks
Higginbotham emphasizes, during this period of time, “’womanhood’ did not rest
on a common female essence, shared culture, or mere physical appearance”, but
rather found its “proof” in race relations and social etiquettes and
understandings.
Social perceptions and understandings of “femininity” and “womanhood” expressed
white male agendas to not only assert patriarchal domain, but also to establish
gender and racial superiority in opposition to the ideals of said patriarchy. As
Gail Bederman explains, the white middle-class and elite males began to
differentiate themselves and their families by stressing their gentility,
respectability and adherence to Evangelical Christian values. Whereas
“civilized manliness” became to be defined by strength, action, work, and the
public sphere, “civilized womanhood”, in opposition, was molded around family
life and responsibility, domestic duties, purity, demure character, Christian
virtue, and the private. For black women, having been dehumanized for rape and
sexual violation throughout slavery, the white patriarchy perpetuate an
enormous division between black and white: “carnality as opposed to intellect
and/or spirit; savagery as opposed to civilization; deviance as a opposed to
normality; promiscuity as opposed to purity; passion as opposed to
passionlessness.”
In
essence, black women represented the white patriarchal perceptions and
definitions of not only femininity and womanhood, but also humanity and
civilization.
At a time immense discrimination,
violence, conflicting societal definitions, how did black women fit into the
social fabric? How did black female figures combat the degrading sexualized
stereotype? How did black women not only see their society and their place
within society, but also understand their own identity and womanhood in
juxtaposition to white male patriarchal understandings? Though victims to
oppression during this era, many prominent black female figures, activists, and
social groups immerged. Looking at the activism, writings, speeches of leaders like Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells, and many other important black female voices, we can further explore and understand the
complexities of the history of black female identity. Though actively outspoken
and against the oppression of white society for blacks, females, and black
females, these immensely important figures not only worked outside of the
patriarchal system, but also worked within it, cultivating an image of public
“respectability” to achieve racial and gender goals. For these black female
figures and many black women at the time, attention to image made them leaders
and ambassadors of their race.
[Sources: Hine, Darlene Clark, King, Wilma, and Reed, Linda. ‘We Specialize in the Wholly Impossible’: A Reader in Black Women’s History, Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Publishing, Inc., 1995
Terrell, Mary Church. A Colored Woman in a White World. Washington, D.C.: Ransdell Inc., 1940.
Sterling, Dorothy. Black Foremothers: Three Lives. New York, NY: The Feminist Press, 1988.
Booker, Christopher B. "I Will Wear No Chain!": A Social History of African American Males. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2000.
Waters, Kristin and Conaway, Carol B. Black Women's Intellectual Traditions: Speaking Their Minds. Burlington, Vermont: University of Vermont Press, 2007.
Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Cooper, Anna J. A Voice from the South. reprint of the 1892 ed. published: Xenia, OH: Aldine, Printing House, 1892.
Gilmore, Glenda. Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.
Gutman, Herbert. The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1976.
Jones, Jacqueline. Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work, and the Family from slavery to the present. New York, NY. Basic Books, 1985.
Da Costa, Mariam. The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1995.
Giddings, Paula. When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1984.
Logan, Rayford. The Betrayal of the Negro: From Rutherford B. Hayes to Woodrow Wilson. New York, NY: Collier Books, 1965.]
