Essay on "Gender Issue in American Slavery History"

Essay 6 pages (1886 words) Sources: 0 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

slaves suffered tremendously, whether they were male or female. However the female experience of slavery was different than that of men in several ways. Most notably, they were subjected to sexual advances that men were not usually subjected to. These advances usually started at a very young age. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), Harriet Jacobs describes the experiences that many young slave girls endured: "When she is fourteen or fifteen, her owner or his sons or the overseer or perhaps all of them begin to bribe her with presents. If these fail to accomplish their purpose, she is whipped or starved into submission to their will" (p. 497).

There were, or course, some incidents of male slaves being sexually molested or harassed, but it was much more common for the male slave owners to harass the female slaves. These men considered their female slaves to be their property and so basically they could do whatever they wanted with them, including having sex with them with or without their consent. As Harriet Jacobs explains, they often used their power to seduce young slave women in to giving themselves willingly to their masters by making them feel as if it was somehow an honor or a privilege to sleep with a rich white man.

Harriet describes at great length the strategy the masters used to subordinate women and to exert what could only be considered 'sexually brutality' upon them. Not only did the reduce their feelings of self-worth through sexual abuse, but they also tried to make them feel as if they simply did not deserve any better. They told them that God wanted them to be slaves because that is what they were born to do. Jacobs writes that some of the male slaves had been so worn down by their masters that they actually helped their masters and overseers permission to be sexually abusive, actually sneaking "out of the way to give their masters free access to their wives and daughters" (p. 489) because the felt like sexuality was the only thing of value that they possessed.

Another problem that female slaves had to deal with that men usually did not was the "jealous mistress." Many women were extremely jealous of the sexual attraction their husbands felt for slave women, and they took it out on the women instead of on their husbands. Harriet experienced this type of wrath daily from her master's wife, Mrs. Flint. She writes: "I had entered my sixteenth year, and every day it became more apparent that my presence was intolerable to Mrs. Flint. Angry words frequently passed between her and her husband. He had never punished me himself, and he would not allow any body else to punish me. In that respect, she was never satisfied; but, in her angry moods, no terms were too vile for her to bestow upon me" (p. 475).

The mistress experience was much different for Frederick Douglass. Although the same cannot be said for every male slave (after all, this was his personal experience, just as Harriet Jacob's experience does not represent all female slaves), Frederick Douglas had a rather positive experience with the wife of his master.

One opportunity that Douglass had that many slaves -- especially women slaves - did not, was the chance to learn how to read and write. Although this opportunity did not occur until he was in his late teens, the generosity of the mistress of a Baltimore slave owner who Douglass called "a kind and tender-hearted woman" (p. 367) in his autobiography permitted him to learn to become literate, which of course, opened up a whole new world of opportunities for him that he did not have before.

After the mistress got caught by her husband and was forced to stop teaching young Frederick, he took matters into his own hands. After the formal lessons stopped, he continued to learn by whatever means possible. This kind of self-motivation and initiative is just one of the many qualities that made Frederick Douglass special. Douglass was not about to let a setback such as not being able to get his literacy lessons anymore stop him from reaching his goal. He used his mind, his creativity and his powers of persuasion to make sure that his brain became an enduring sponge for knowledge. His drive was an inherent part of his nature, and his circumstances helped him use that drive to further himself in life.

Another thing that male slaves like Frederick Douglas did not have to deal with but that female slaves did was pregnancy. Women slaves suffered differently than men simply because men cannot get pregnant and women can. Life as a slave was hard enough without having a child growing inside you -- especially if that child was the result of rape or coercion by a white master. The emotional and physical toll that pregnant slaves had to go through was agonizing. Making it worse was the fact that they had very little, if any, control over what would happen to their child once it was born. None of the options were good. The child might be taken away from its mother and sold to another master. Or it might be able to stay with its mother, only to live the same kind of horrible life that she was living. Sadly, these were actually the best case scenarios because many slave women were forced to have abortions.

Slavery was a different experience for women also in the sense that women tend to be more nurturing and caring, which meant that they were more likely to take on other slaves' suffering as their own. Harriet Jacobs, when describing her reasons for writing her book, lets some of this empathy show: "I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to me to have been silent about my own history. Neither do I care to excite sympathy for my own sufferings. But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two million of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse" (pp. 439-440).

Frederick Douglas also suffered terribly as a slave, but his experience was different than Harriet Jacobs because as a man, he was taken more seriously as a leader and as a speaker for his people. When the Civil War started, Frederick Douglass was already one of the most famous and respected leaders in America. As a former slave who publicly championed abolitionist causes, as well as women's suffrage and other controversial causes, Douglass was widely known for his amazing leadership qualities.

Douglass was, of course, born into a position that is the complete opposite of leadership: slavery. People have long debated whether leaders are born or made, but in Douglass' case, it seemed to be a combination of both. Although he was not born in a leadership position by any means, leadership did seem to run in his blood. Opportunities and circumstances joined together with this natural leadership ability to produce an American legend.

One thing that Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass have in common is that both used their experiences to tell their stories to others whom they thought they might be able to help. Both were able to rise above their horrid circumstances and give other people hope that maybe they could do the same. Harriet's words are especially inspiring when she writes "I and my children are now free! We are as free from the power of slaveholders as are the white people of the north; and though that, according to my ideas, is not saying a great deal, it is a vast improvement in my condition" (p. 664).

Frederick Douglass also got to experience the joys of freedom. In 1838, when he was twenty years of age, Douglass escaped from slavery and moved to New York. It was here that he met his wife-to-be, Ann Murray, a 'free Black' from Baltimore, Maryland. After they got married he changed his name from his slave name, which was Augustus Washington Bailey, to the name that would live on in history: Frederick Douglass. During the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865, Douglass became an ardent advocate promoting the emancipation of slaves as well as the rights of African-American volunteers to enlist in the army and fight for the Union. He asserted that African-Americans needed to be allowed to fight for their own freedom, and he personally helped recruit hundreds of Black soldiers, including two of his sons. His ability to set himself free from the past and start a new and productive, happy life is something that so many slaves, both male and female, longed to have the opportunity to do. Both Harriet and Frederick are inspirational writers and leaders.

Of course while some great leaders are groomed… READ MORE

How to Reference "Gender Issue in American Slavery History" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

American Colonies the Puritans Who Arrived Essay

American Colonies

The Puritans who arrived in America in 1630 were on a mission to build a -city upon a hill- as an example of what could be done in… read more

Essay 6 pages (2524 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Native American Indians

---

American History X An Exercise Essay

American History X

An exercise in and a meditation upon subversion, the film American History X is at once making a bold social and political commentary on the inherent destructiveness… read more

Essay 2 pages (774 words) Sources: 2 Topic: American History / United States

---

History of the United States Without Acquiring Reaction Paper

history of the United States without acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the civil rights movement. From the beginning of United States history, the fate of blacks, in general, and their… read more

Reaction Paper 2 pages (772 words) Sources: 2 Topic: American History / United States

---

History of Prostitution Term Paper

History Of Prostitution

"There hasn't been a place on my body that hasn't been bruised somehow, some way, some big, some small," Marcia (pseudonym), a prostitute, reports in a study… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (4911 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA Topic: Sexuality / Gender

---

Mexican Sexual Slavery Term Paper

Mexican Sexual Slavery

There are many people in the U.S. And elsewhere who do not frequently account issues regarding modern slavery. For many the images that come to mind, with… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2246 words) Sources: 8 Style: MLA Topic: Sexuality / Gender

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>