BIG MAMA DON'T FEEL NO PAIN, DON'T NOTHING TOUCH HER
"The general myth is that our women have been unaffected by the s*xism of this society at large. Usually this myth is presented in one of the following forms: Historically, the only free people in America were white men and Black women; Black women are not concerned with women's liberation (because they have no need as they are not affected by the same things which affect white women); Black women can take anything.
But, historically speaking, how can the woman who was a slave, who was bought and sold on the auction block, and who suffered all of the indignities--such as flagrant s*xual exploitation--that racist masters heap on female slaves, how can such a woman be thought of as a free woman? Historically, the freedom of African-american women is obviously a fraud.
However, contemporarily, this myth is resurfacing in the language of our people. Today we hear men, and even some women, say that Black women have it good because they are getting the best jobs and best educational opportunities because they fall into two categories: minority (Black) and female. What is the reality?
The reality is that, income-wise, African-american women earn on average less than white men, Black men and white women, in that order.1 Additionally, our women earn less not because of a difference in qualifications—their educational attainments up through four years of college are either equal or minutely higher than that of our men. In other words, although they have comparable educational qualifications, our women still make less.2 So then what accounts for this difference? It is basically s*xism synergistically working with capitalism and racism. This income/education difference between women and men is but one of many manifestations of s*xism.
Another, and more sinister, manifestation of s*xism is the rate of rape. In cities which have large African-american populations, such as New Orleans, African-american women are, percentage wise, the leading victims of rape. In New Orleans, seventy percent of all victims of reported rapes are African-American women.3 Those who argue that our women are so-called "free," are people who are either totally ignorant of the truth or else they are intentionally falsifying reality. Earning less pay on average than a white man who only finished elementary school when you have at least a high school diploma4 is not free. Being the number one target of rapists and having little or no recourse through the judicial system is not free.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Saturday, February 8th 2014 at 6:59PM
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