Since the beginning of time, African-Americans have been speculated and prodded at for our bodies. There has always been a fascination with African-American and their features. When Europeans first came to Africa, they were astounded by the little clothes that our ancestors wore and also by our strong features which contrasted to their own which they considered “animalistic”. For instance, the story of Sarah Baartman, who was captured by the Europeans so that they could examine her voluptuous body, is a prime example of the fetishization that occurs with Black people. This led to many sexual abuse during slavery, because there were many instances where a slave master would force female slaves to have sex with them against their own will. Taylor Gordon wrote a piece in the Atlanta Black Star stating that “To oppose the rape of Black women in effect meant opposing slavery. A Black woman’s body was not considered her own. Control over her body was passed from white person to white person along with a bill of sale.” The slave masters would have sex with their slaves because essentially they owned their bodies and there was nothing that the slaves could do about it. Their cries fell to deafening ears.
Do you know how triggering that is?African-Americans, especially African-American women have been perpetuated as being overly sexual, even before we hit puberty. We are seen as sexually beings before we even know what sex is. I can’t even tell you the amount of times someone has made lewd comments about my body type. Walking across the street and having grown man making cat calls at you simply because of how you are shaped and you can’t even do anything about it for fear of them assaulting you. Author of A Taste of Brown Sugar: Black Women in Pornography, Mireille Miller-Young mentions that “We are constantly seen as these oversexed, irresponsible, out-of-control women who create havoc with our sexuality.” We don’t even have control over her own body and choices. We are forced into this stigma of only being hyper-sexual objects for the pleasure of men and nothing more.
In order for African-American women to free itself from the bondage of slavery that still has an impact on us today, we must face the history that comes along with it. We must reclaim our bodies as our own and that is when will get true sexual liberation.
By: Anice Altema
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