Mythical Domination Over History
In an antebellum South, black women were faced with the challenge of overcoming the stereotypes, not only of a subordinate race, but also of a subordinate gender. This unique classification presented two of the most famous ideologies in American History--that of the Jezebel and that of the Mammy. The Jezebel was seen as a hyper-sexual, prolific figure, while in stark contrast, the Mammy was seen as a superwoman character devoid of sexual identity who played a central role in the white families of the early nineteenth century. Black women, as a society, were believed to encompass both of these ideals, which proved idealistic at best. Because of these opposing stereotypes, some bondwomen resisted their generalization, while others negotiated as best they could in their difficult situation. Through these compromises and contradictions, stereotypical myths were, in some cases, defied or redefined, but in others, due to unavoidable circumstances, were indubitably solidified. The myth of the Jezebel originated when Europeans mistook native African’s semi-nudity–often due to extreme heat–as lasciviousness. This mistake was also contributed to by the African cultural acceptance of polygamy. Therefore, once displaced into a Southern society where communal nudity was associated with promiscuity, it was nearly impossible to avoid this assumption. Ironically, this public nudity was inevitable as a result of Southern white slaveowner’s practice of placing black women on the auctioning block completely nude so potential buyers could determine the female slave’s reproductive capabilities. This emphasis on reproduction was a huge factor in the sexual exploitation of black bondwomen. Because the American institution of slavery was reliant on an inborn multiplication of the slave population due to the end of the Slave Trade, slaveowners were willing to go to great lengths to ensure their slave women were extremely fruitful when it came to their procreative abilities. The conditions in which slave women were forced to work only added to the association of black women with sexual impurity. Often forced to work in environments surrounded by water, mud, and heat, slave women frequently hiked up their skirts as a means to completing their assigned tasks more efficiently. Also, the all-too-familiar whippings that bondwomen were forced to endure were often performed on a stripped woman placed in certain positions which had obvious sexual implications.