å Sunday, September 17th, 2017

In chapter one of Jennifer Morgan’s Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery, Morgan describes the development of white supremacy and the connection that is made by Europeans between the female anatomy and racism. A reoccurring image is portrayed throughout the chapter; colored women were depicted as abnormal beings, possessing grotesque qualities such as plummeting breasts and unusual strength. As demonstrated by Pieter de Marees who wrote about his own personal encounters in Guinea, a black woman’s femininity was consistently targeted and used to belittle her. It was through these physical perceptions that female blackness became equated with monstrosity. A constant comparison was made between women of different races, and the more a black woman’s appearance strayed from that of a white woman, the more revolting she was found to be. Despite how off-putting the Europeans found certain elements of black culture, it did not prevent them from recognizing the physical prowess that they embodied. Europeans observed the impressive endurance of black female workers and black mothers as they delivered their children. Black women were quick to return to normal function after labor, and were often accompanied by their young as they worked. White women were quite the opposite,  and experienced great pain during and after pregnancy. Although they heavily criticized the way in which black mothers tended to their children, it was part of what lead them to believe that they were well suited for hard labor.

This combination of slumping breasts, experience in manual labor, and quick ability to recuperate almost immediately following labor closed the distinction between black females and domesticated animals in the minds of Europeans. Black women were not regarded as creations of God, which in the minds of Europeans justified their harsh treatment and reputation and made them subject to European domination. The black image became twisted by these same men, who insisted that a black woman’s worth was dependent on the amount of physical labor she could produce and her reproductive function. More European travelers would hear of these beliefs towards indigenous cultures and arrive with plans to exploit the people who were wrongfully oppressed because their unique customs and appearances.

Discussion question: Europeans did not consider black women descendants of Eve and therefore were not related to them because they did not experience the same labor pain as white women. Do you think, had black women exhibited signs of labor pain, that to Europeans would view them more equally, or would they find another element to target to separate their races?

Jennifer Morgan in, Male Travelers, Female bodies, and Racial Ideology, discussed about a lot of themes on a very strong topic. The most interesting from my perspective was a topic about how different writers and travelers implemented different ideas about white supremacy in the early sixteenth century. I believe that, Morgan probably connected the female bodies and racism through presenting us different opinions of those famous writers and travelers.

At the time when colonization began, Europeans didn’t really know what was out there in the world. And, as colonization gained a momentum, many people travelled to different parts of the world. They found something new in the horizon and it was definitely very strange and exotic for them. So, they wrote stories about these indigenous people and especially women. For some travelers, these indigenous women were very beautiful and others saw them as some kind of devils and unnatural monstrosity. So, the special propaganda began. Although, the propaganda word might be strong but for my purposes in serves well. Therefore, writers wrote that black people were animalistic and cruel. Black women and men were physically strong but they didn’t have any civility. Many travelers of that time saw indigenous people as a work force because they thought they could give them a purpose and use them as slaves. So, the propaganda played a huge role in validating the use of black people as slaves and Europeans would feel sorry for them. All those horrible stories about childbirth, child scarifies and cannibalism had an impact on European people and the idea of white supremacy. European people just simply thought that they were better. The black females’ bodies were compared to white female bodies and slave owners figured that black female were better in labor work. They were physically stronger and they presumably didn’t feel pain. Black female bodies were always shown as devils in women form as well as other forms such as six legs form and sagging breasts. Thus, Europeans writers and travelers implemented the idea that black people didn’t matter and it was used to justify the strict control and supremacy over the black indigenous males and females.

Question: Why most of the writers of that time concentrated mostly on women and not men? Was it Jennifer Morgan’s choice to do that?

Racism became evident as England began searching in West Africa for strong and profitable workers to migrate to America and establish new colonies. English writers wrote about their views of African women’s bodies, viewing them as nonsexual animals whose sole purpose was for childbearing and labor. English explorer Richard Jobson wrote about how the African man’s penis and the women’s breast were not sexual organs but more like troubled appendages. As part of their culture the women did not wear clothes. White European’s more or less so called African women animals, describing their breast as low low hanging animal utters. There were also Mexican, Floridian, and Virginian women who were dark skinned and walked nude, however these women had breast that did not hang low and appeared unused and because of this, these women were not seen as savages,for the mere appearance of their breast. African women were seen as savages whether it was because of the shape of their body or their loud behavior, people did not view them as real women,and compared with the beastly behavior of the Garamantes women (Morgan 28,29). The beauty of these women was not allowed to be talked about, instead they were continually depicted as beast who were picked and sold into slavery for labor and reproduction for more labor. These images stuck with the African women all the way through into America where their differences between themselves and the white woman became even more and when racism flourished. White women could not understand how the African women would give birth in front of everyone without the help of a nurse or midwife (Morgan 27). They believed that black women were not cursed because they seemingly experienced pain free child delivery, and it further solidified the racial barrier because they saw them as witches and animals.

Had the Richard Jobson wrote about the beauty of African women instead of making them out to be savages, would people have accepted and been more open to their culture?

In Jennifer Morgan’s Male Travelers, Female bodies, and Racial Ideology , we see how the appearance of the female body is used to justify racism, and how it intensifies the damage done by racism. Because some of the African women had a different body type than some of the European women, the Europeans wanted to find a way to make sense of all of their differences by stating that the black race was inferior. They tried to prove it through religion by depicting devils as women with sagging breast. They did it through literature that described black women as being unwomanly and even animalistic. The culture of people who were foreign to the Europeans were seen through the women of that particular region. African women holding their babies on their backs were believed to be the reason that black people have wider noses than Europeans, so they were blamed for making the black race inferior. Everyone comes from a woman so the way to target an entire race is through the women. People felt that they were able to justify racism by finding ways to connect the women and their bodies to monstrous creatures, and therefore her offspring would be less than human. The appearance of the female body was used to intensify the damage done by racism because by trying to scientifically prove superiority, and because literature , art and even religion was used show superiority, racism became more than just hatred. It is a belief system and a way of life. It alters the way Africans are viewed and how they view themselves. We see the results of this even now where many people feel that superiority can be scientifically proven. We even see it in how we currently have a European standard of beauty. When Ligon described some of the beautiful black women he made sure to note that they were an exception because they didn’t have typical African features. Women’s bodies were used to add another layer to racism.

Question: Why were the women the only ones viewed as being responsible for the inferiority of a race when it takes a man and a woman to create a child?

A women’s body and their physical appearance can easily give insight into how a certain culture operates. Observing how they dress and how they behave undoubtedly reflect the type of environment that they grew up in. However, can it also justify the superiority of one race over another? During the age of the New World, as Europeans started to set foot into foreign lands such as Africa, women were targeted upon as means of scrutinizing the “Other,” indigenous people that the Europeans encountered. They criticized the women for their shamelessness in how they dressed and how they behaved. This image became the representation of the whole continent, and all of Africa was deemed savage, inferior, and uncivil (2014:30). Ultimately, the supposed vulgarity of women and the country they represent was used to justify white supremacy. This shows an act of racism because the Europeans enforced judgments and assumptions based on their belief of superiority.

This is further exemplified in Jennifer Morgan’s book when she describes the work of Pieter de Marees and his view on Black women’s sexuality. De Marees talks of his voyage to Sierra Leone, which is a country in West Africa. He first describes the people as unclean, greedy, and lewd, among other things, and attacks on women by calling them lecherous and liars (2014:30). Then, he linked his view on women’s sexuality, which he deemed savage, to the whole nation and all the people of Africa. However, looking carefully into why De Marees declared them savage, it was nothing more than the feeling of unfamiliarity of experiencing a different culture. He called women shameless for their nudity and choosing to give birth in front of other people, including men and children (2014:30). This symbolizes African culture and portrays how they were raised and how they chose to live their lives. By no means should this signal any degree of inferiority or incivility. It was only through the eyes of self-absorbed Europeans where the idea of vulgarity and incivility was introduced, and Africans fell victim to the act of racism.

Discussion Question: Do you think there are still people who judge against a certain race because of their culture and how they live? If so, why do you think it exists?

The author, Jennifer Morgan, immediately makes a connection between the female body and racism in the first paragraph. Here she highlights how Europeans viewed an African woman’s hair, color and facial features as something that was flawed. The racist’s views were used as a way to justify slavery. A common theme regarding the connecting of the female and racism is the labeling of African women as “beasts” or “monstrosities”, to further justify enslavement by Europeans and the Americas. This is clearly evident in the last paragraph on page 36.

In this paragraph, the link between an African woman’s ability to supposedly be able to have a painless childbirth and be able to breast feed her child with long hanging breasts over her shoulder is a justification that they were well suited to preforming hard labor. Morgan illustrates that these ideas were depicted and were circulated by different writers, including medical writers. The paragraph describes how medical writers during the 17^th century described childbirth and nursing as difficult work for a wealthy woman. The truth of the matter, according to Morgan, was that the English feared that they would die during childbirth. Morgan suggests that the English accepted the pain during childbirth as confirmation that they were part of a “Christian community”. This brings back the notion, that if African women were more capable of hard labor. Moreover, according to writer Saidiya Hartman, African women were able to take the pain from a lashing or branding. The shocking revelation made by this comment suggests that the ability to withstand that pain, further improved them by becoming slaves. Morgan views that by writers circulating these views, readers were learning about African women with amazement. Lastly, Morgan illustrates in Chapter 1 and in the passage reference that the English established a connection between an African women’s ability to reproduce “painlessly” and breast feed her child as justification to enslaved them, because this ability along with their “flawed facial characteristics”, enabled them to preform hard labor.

QUESTION: Why did the English or “Christians” believe that African women were less religious?

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #3

In Jennifer’s Morgan’s book a standard connection between the female body and racism would be how non-European women were portrayed. A reoccurring theme is the depiction of women of color as barbaric and inhumane as their method of concealing and usage of their breasts were not to the standards of European society.

An example of the European portrayal of colored women would be the description of an African women’s’ large breasts, it was that it seems she had six legs when she bent over. This classification, when told to other individuals, would construct a visual representation that appears as if the women from Africa are not human beings, but some creature with a human form. An example of this kind of derogatory remarks would be the foundation of numerous opinions of many European writers. It is not surprising that an Englishman known as Richard Ligon would make Africans equal to animals based off of their physical features. As a result, when the books of these writers made their way to Europe, European society considered Africans as inhuman. Africans were found to be inhuman well into the mid 19th century in Europe, as they were present in human zoos scattered in Germany, France, and even England.

In addition to being regarded as an animal, women of color were also associated being devilish figures and inconsiderate in regards to the way they fed their children. Women would breastfeed their child by placing their breast on their shoulder towards their back so that the infant may feed. This method of feeding was considered different and improper in the eyes of a European as women in Europe would breastfeed by cradling the baby to their bosom. Europeans also felt their method of feeding the child as inhumane as the constant contact of the child’s’ face to the back of the woman would cause abnormalities to the facial structure of the child. European writers explain that due to the artificial facial reconstructing of the child’s face African women alone caused their entire race to suffer degradation.

As a result, the usage of the female anatomy reinforces racism by differentiating the physical attributes of the breasts and the usage of it in regards to feeding the children. In addition to skin color, etiquette, and cultural differences Europeans used the physical differences between white Europeans and those of color to display who is civilized and who isn’t. Ultimately causing northern Europeans to display superiority, while those who aren’t to be inferior.

My question: If the Europeans considered the Africans and the aboriginals of the Americas to be devils, and inferior to them, why was there miscegenation?

In Chapter 1 “ Male Travelers, Female Bodies and Racial Ideology,” Jennifer Morgan discusses how European explorers and settlers compared the bodies of females and how these colonizers used race to justify the differences they saw in the female body. One European explorer Ligon, found great beauty in an African woman he saw on Cape Verde, so much so, he compared her to the queen of England. He then came to see another view of the black female, a grotesque beast. He explained that her breasts hung down so low, you would think she was a six-legged creature. This view of the black women equates them to the likes of animals and it dehumanizes them. By comparing black women to animals, this reinforces white superiority. One passage Morgan discusses is Vespucci’s 1502 voyage and his account of what he saw. Vespucci, like other European explorers tried to use race and the female body to construct a social hierarchy where Europeans would be at the top. Vespucci praises the Native woman for maintaining an aesthetically pleasing body and is in awe with how she carries herself with ease, though pregnant. It was believed that Africans didn’t feel pain during childbirth, especially because they had many children, therefore it became easier to give birth. He was used to seeing the pain that came with pregnancy, as European females didn’t do heavy labor and were constantly in pain.They didn’t have as many children as their counterparts African and Native American women however, continued to do manual labor, with great strength.
Morgan discusses how cultural differences help categorize Native women as monsters compared to European women. It is the native women’s custom to walk around with few pieces of clothes, large rings in her ears and jewelry in her nose amongst other things. All of these things were not familiar to European settlers, which allowed them to subject native people people to inferiority and to believe that they were devilish. Benzoni stated that the differences made the native woman appear as a monster rather than a human being (2004:19). European women were considered to be dainty and covered up. They were the model of what every female should be like. They weren’t the savages and barbarians. The dehumanizing and criticizing of native culture allowed European settlers to believe in their superiority.

Question: If these voyagers read these accounts and saw it was customary in the islands and the Americas to dress and act a certain way, what made them think it was for Europeans to decide what should be the “norm” and socially acceptable?

Social division is prevalent throughout this world. Minorities are constantly being oppressed by the system. We are constantly placed into categories based on complexion, hair texture, shape, size etc. Certain ethnic groups are considered to be inferior and less civilizedwhen compared to others. Today, we continue to see this unfair pattern within our society. Most manual and degrading jobs are done by the poor (blacks Mexican, Hispanic). We are assumed to be the less intellectual than most and are stereotyped as savages. Morgan explores her views on this stereotypical behavior against blacks. She expanded this ideology on page 35 where she stated that blacks develop flat noses based on the laborious activities performed by the mother. A study was done by Nicholas villaut who made the distinction of children having regular noses when their parents didn’t do laborious jobs. He draws a conclusion that because many African women worked in the field they would breast feed their infants with their breast over their shoulder. The laborious movement,the suckling of the child and the knocking against their mother’s shoulders causes the child’s nose to flatten. Overtime, flat nostrils became a feature within the black community due to natural selection.Historiansused another case of blacks’ aborted fetus to construct a believable theory of the birth of flat nostril among blacks. Thus, this ideology is false and the author wants us to stop this belief that the formation of black’s noseswere established from hard labor of black women compared to the Europeans who had straighter noses from the lack of domestic work. The author wants us to know that our physical traits were developed based on climate. For instance,in hot climates women had wider nostrils compared to white European women. This variation comes from the different establishment of theirorigin. In colder weather, a person breathes in less air; this causes the air to become warm before going into ourbrain. Homeostasis causes the temperature of the air outside to be the same as our body temperature to prevent freezing and deterioration of our cells. Therefore, African women breathe more rapidly than a white European female. Natural selection selects the stronger traits and these womencontinue to have distinct features.

Another issue explored by the author on racism and the female body is that many Europeansbelieved black/African women had sagging breasts because of their manual labor. They believed white women had smaller breasts because they weren’t domestic workers and had little to no children. African women were categorized as domestic animals (dogs, cows). This is due to the fact that they were said to look like a 6 legged animal when they were weeding and when laying on their backs they were accompanied by the young ones nibbling on their breast. As a result of their sagging breast and nuditythey were seen as uncivilized and savage people. The Europeans use black’sphysical makeup to profit them. For instance, black laborers bared the pain of child labor, whipping and long hours.They had elongatedbreast for feeding while laboring. Additionally, many Europeans believed Africans didn’t suffer when undergoing child bearing. Thus,it became a custom for them to have multiple births. Consequently, many believed these women didn’t need assistance while giving birth. Most births were done independently; they weren’t given any medication to suppress their pain nor were they given mid-wives to assist.Instead, they were sent out into the fields to work during the post-partum period.

Morgan wants us to raise awareness to the fact that Africans are subjected to having many children and why having children doesn’t affect their mobility. She wants us to see the inhumane acts that the Europeans brought upon their enslaved women. She also wants us to know that these practices were seen by other blacks in Africa and that theEuropean adopted this notion that if you areblack you are labeled to work and reproduce. They assumed Black women didn’t have stretch marks or wrinkles on their stomach from giving birth; their bodies were believed to be an elastic. Consequently, their only role in society is to be like farm animals.

In chapter one of  Jennifer L. Morgan’s Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery, Morgan discusses the role gender and the perception of the female body had on justifying slavery and racial views. Morgan examines the ideologies of European settlers particularly their  judgement of the African woman’s body. Prior to exploration Europeans had a predetermined perspective of the New World’s civilization. This lead to the developing ethnocentrism. During the Age of exploration many European seekers found themselves to be superior to Africans. They would describe the black women as masculine, monstrous and beastly (Morgan 2004:28). Her body was paradox it was both productive and vile in the sense that Europeans were not accustomed to witnessing “strong” built women who endured laborious hours. Their built lead the Europeans to believe they were predisposed to physical labor and reproductive labor. Testimonies of black women giving birth and be adept days following contradicted the white woman’s role in child labor as they would take months to recuperate. The black woman’s “hanging” breasts contributed to the validation of racial superiority. The white women did not posses these “hanging” breast which equated the black woman to savagery. Ultimately the black women role in her culture did not parallel the white women. The standards of beauty were those obtained by the white women who possessed soft features and were usually described as gentle and dainty. The black women did not seize these features as they were seen to capable of  working alongside men and then come home to her domestic works. She was not feminine or delicate as described by the European settlers. Women were even compared to livestock in terms of reproducing. Indigenous women were not seen as womanly thus facilitating dehumanization. This ideology lead to the notion of European superiority which in turn justified the slave system.

Discussion question

Why did European slavers purchase more children than women during the eighteenth century? Weren’t women more able than children according to their accounts?