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Assignment 4

The concept of “monstrosity” bridges both Morgan’s and Davis’ works.  In Morgan’s work, the history how European countries justified the exploitation and the enslavement of black women is explored. In Davis’ work, Davis further explores the history but also connects the “dehumanization of slavery” and the role of a black woman as a slave in America.

Morgan discusses how Europeans saw the physical features of black women as flawed. Morgan shares that through the writings of English authors, these physical features were being compared to European women. An African woman’s features were depicted as less beautiful and more “monstrous”. This image of “monstrosity” dehumanized women and was used to justify the enslavement of African women. Further images were depicted of women delivery children without suffering and pain. Moreover, these women supposedly fed their children with their long sagging breast while their children were on their backs. These horrendous images further portrayed African women as barbaric and even as cannibals. Morgan’s establishes the history of how by dehumanizing African women, Europeans were able to justify why they enslaved African women.

Davis connects the European history of the enslavement of women to further justify the exploitation of black women in America during slavery. Davis’ cites that because the Europeans already dehumanized black women, the womanhood of the black woman was also taken away. The ‘monstrosity” concept lived on in America. Davis implies that they had no identity in society, and could almost be seen as being “genderless”. A black woman who was a slave had a clear role to slave owners. Black woman were their possessions and were not seen as individuals. Their roles were to work and reproduce in order to ensure the future of the workforce. Davis describes woman as being “breeders”. Because of the “monstrous” and “dehumanized” images of black women slaves, Davis cites that this was not only justification for enslavement, but also justification for the horrendous abuse that women faced at the hands of their slave owners.