While taking a closer look at Buck’s (2007) and Davis’s (1983) articles, I concluded the main theme in both papers to be how women of colour not only face sexism but also racism in western cultures, specifically the U.S. These articles address the development of the women’s movement in America and show how sex is always placed ahead of, and to the exclusion of, race when it comes to feminism. Both writers take the stance that women of colour never had a chance to be a viable part of the fight for women’s rights as the “whiteness” of skin determined who was human and who was savage.
Buck notes in her article that the “control of women’s bodies thus became critical to the maintenance of whiteness and to the production of slaves” (Buck, 2007, p. 33). Furthermore, as of 1668, it was public knowledge that a black woman’s body was that of a slave, while a white woman’s body that of a keeper of the man’s house (Buck, 2007, p. 34). What this shows is that blacks, no matter their gender, were always considered a tool of production, while white men of upper status held citizenship and ruled over all other peoples. White women were the chattel of their husbands, but had the potential to rise out of their situations and become citizens themselves.
Davis’s (1983) chapter addresses the origins of the feminist movement in the U.S., paying particular attention to Susan B. Anthony’s attitudes toward all women in the fight for equality of “the gendered” woman. While Anthony had an “individual stance against racism” (Davis, 1983, p. 111), she also believed “woman first, negro last” (p. 115). What this meant for Black women is that while Anthony did hypothetically believe women were equal amongst themselves, the truth of the matter is that “woman” in her political motivations meant only white, upper class women. Anthony believed in human rights and political equality for women, but that was overshadowed by her choice to remain silent on racism (Davis, 1983, p. 121).
References
Buck, P. D. (2007). Constructing White Privilege. In P. A. Rothenberg (Ed.), Race, Class, and Gender in the United States (pp. 32-37). Worth Publishers.
Davis, A. Y. (12 February 1983).Woman Suffrage at the Turn of the Century: The Rising Influence of Racism. In A. Y, Davis, Women, Race & Class (pp. 110-126). New York: Vintage Books.
