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Assignment 04

Jennifer Morgan’s “Laboring Women” and Angela Davis’ “Women, Race & Class” both represent concepts about labor that develops their central idea and assist in forming a better understanding of women’s roles in the course of history. Concepts of motherhood, monstrosity, and home all help develop the idea behind labor. In Morgans book black women and other indigenous women were seen as monsters and were considered inferior to European women. The appearance of their breasts and other physical features that made them indistinguishable from a male made them more suited as slaves. The degradation of women outside of Europe influenced many Europeans to use them for work. Labor was the main reason behind degrading women across the globe. In chapter one, she states they were compared to goats udders. This comparison to a domesticated animal shows the value the Europeans placed on women not native to Europe. So they can find a reason to enslave them due to the increasing need to cultivate land because of a rise in colonies. Labor was not mentioned very often in chapter one, but it was the main focus as to why the Europeans created a terrible image of indigenous women. Angela Davis uses labor to effectively explain the role of the housewife and the role of a black slave. Angela Davis uses two misconceived parallels occurring at the time to explain the actual connection and vital dependence they have. The pre and post civil war era and the women’s pre and post suffrage movement. Labor for slaves is being whipped and sexually assaulted on a major plantation. Labor for some white women at the time was the concept of being a housewife. Which consisted of tending to the kids, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the farm with their husband, etc. The mill Girls are also discussed in her book to explain the misconception of all women at the time. Poorer women worked at mills to support their families as well as the husband. In terrible conditions for terrible pay. Labor in her book is the common factor towards rebellion and revolution. Labor in Morgans book is used to understand the why. Why were African women and indigenous women degraded? Angela Davis investigates the the how. How did labor conditions and labor roles start a revolution?