For many African American women, their sexual expression and the perception of their bodies by others has not been historically theirs to own. With stereotypes such as the view as an overtly sexual being such as the “Jezebel” having followed them for centuries past and present, African American women struggle to express their sexual freedom. [1] African American women are conscious of perceptions and stereotypes of black women as seen by the dominant culture. Many of these stereotypes are focused on black women’s sexuality and the overt expression of freedom through embracing of their own sexuality. African American women have tried for the past century to fight the negativity of these stereotypes either through embracing of their own sexuality by working class or poor African American, or by attempting to fight to lift up the poor African American women to the moral standards of the black women class.
In Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, author Angela Y. Davis writes of the influence of class, race and gender, and how it affected the black working class and black middle class in their ability to express and embrace their sexual autonomy. Davis’ argument that blues embodies the sexual autonomy that the working class black life was associated with, and addressed social justice issues is explored through the songs of Bessie Smith, Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, and Billie Holiday. The works of these three women provided an intimate look into women in the black working class, and represent struggles concerning gender, sexuality, race, and class. The blues of the 1920’s reveal the views of black working class and poor black women had of themselves, that of sexually independent, self-sufficient, powerful women. This pervasive sexual imagery found in the blues was used as a way in which African American women could express their freedom in ways that their economic status did not allow them to otherwise and this social freedom that sexual autonomy offered them was significantly linked to “unfreedom” that African American working class women experienced in the economic and political realms. The classic blues sung by Gertrude Rainey and Bessie Smith were able to issue more direct challenges to those with privilege over sexual autonomy, and can be seen as an embracing the over sexualized stereotypes of African American women.
While the working class African American women were using blues music to try and create a freedom of expression for black women, middle class black women were using organizations. Many middle class African American women were involved in the black women’s club movement organizations such as the National Association of Colored Women, to develop the black middle class. The black women’s club movement was mostly made up of black middle class educated women who sought to help raise the poor, uneducated black masses, and progress them into the middle class. Those involved in the black women’s club movement believed in the high importance of family, home, and a woman’s morality. Those involved in the organizations such as the National Association of Colored Women were unhappily aware that many of the dominant culture’s racist perceptions linked them with “the least educated, most immoral, and most impoverished black women,” who did not abide by the moral standards of the middle class black women. [2] These black women were trying to defend black women against the perception of immorality and sexual promiscuity that black women are perceived to fundamentally display. Now where the blues singers were promoting sexual autonomy and agency for African American women, by attempting to raise up the poor and working class African American women to their standards, middle class African American women were taking away sexual agency and the ability to promote their own sexual identities in their chosen manner. By attempting to take away the sexual autonomy of the black working class women, the black middle class women were actually taking away the little freedom that the working class women had. Working class and poor African American women had no economic or political freedom, but what they did have was their sexual freedom, and ability to express themselves how they choose. By denying working class African American women the right to pursue their own sexual identity, black middle class women were stripping away working class and poor black women’s freedom to express their womanhood. The exact women who were the topics of the blues songs, and so represented the sexual autonomy of black women were the same ones that the black middle class wanted to save and raise up.
[1] Melissa Harris-Perry, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011).
[2] Angela Y. Davis, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism (New York: Random House, 1998), 42-46.
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Very interesting! When I was working on my blog post I stumbled upon a statement by a black female comedian and blogger that really struck me. She said that black women do not have the luxury of individuality, that the actions of one black woman or the pervasiveness of one stereotype reflect upon the whole. It sounds like this is the very issue that the National Association of Colored Women was trying to combat. Perhaps they felt–fair or not–that limiting the sexual rights of the working-class would ultimately benefit black women as a group.
I really enjoyed the excerpt from Davis’ book that we read for this week because it delved into the intersectionality of identities. Olivia, your paragraph on the interplay between the working and middle class was very eloquently put and speaks to the different identities at play for the black women blues singers. As we have discussed in class before, music is a powerful way to navigate the concept of identities in a manner that is not “intimidating” to those that don’t share that identity (a lack of a better word escapes me at the moment.)
I was really interested in the idea of sexuality as freedom in post-Civil War America. In a society where freed slaves had few rights, they asserted their freedom to choose their own sexual partners. However, I can also see the point of organizations like the National Association of Colored Women: since the stereotype of the hypersexual black woman was so prevalent, they thought the best approach was to show people that not all black women were sexually promiscuous, and this respectable. I doubt these middle-class women thought they were suppressing other women’s freedoms; they believed they were really helping by encouraging them to be upright, moral citizens. It shows that there’s always a gap between intentions and consequences, and how to really help a group of people, you have to listen to them and understand their needs, not just assume you know what’s best for them.
Emily, you make a great point about the gap between intentions and consequences. I guess this division between the desires and needs of the middle-class and the working class is a reminder that no group of people is monolithic, even if they have shared culture and experiences. We are the only ones who understand ourselves, and it is impossible to fully understand another person based solely on knowledge of their background or cultural experiences. As museum professionals, if we are ever working with a group of people different from our own, we must listen more than we talk.
Emily, I was also interested in the changing sexual freedom in this period – it’s something that I haven’t really learned about before. There is a dichotomy between the expression of sexual freedom through blues in the lower class, and the promotion of family values through middle class organizations. You raise a good point in that there’s a gap between intentions and consequences; I would be interested to know if these two groups ever talked with each other about their values and how they could help each other.
This week’s readings were really a study in each of class, race, and gender, but that did not fully dawn on me until reading it synthesized here. It can be fascinating to see the interplay and overlap between these concepts. The women featured in Davis’ book, and generations of black women have walked a fine line between managing these aspects of their personal and collective identities.
Great post, Olivia! I had a lot of inner struggle with the reading this week in regards to the working versus middle class. The idea of the working class being able to express themselves for the first time was very empowering. It didn’t matter how they did it; they were taking back some of their freedom. I struggled once the idea of the middle class was introduced as trying to diminish this freedom a little. As Emily and Miranda said, they were doing what they thought was best, but they weren’t really listening. It must have been very hard on the working class to feel that they were losing some of this freedom all over again. It all circles back to this idea of dialogue, and as Miranda said, listening more then talking.
I truly enjoyed this weeks readings, as they brought up some important discussions. There is no such thing as a truly shared human experience. All of the groups of women discussed in the readings wanted to take advantage of their freedoms, but they expressed that freedom in different ways. For some, this came in the form of singing about their sexual freedom and their right to be with whomever they chose. For others, that freedom came in the form of the classic female dome of domesticity. They wanted all black women to portray themselves as upstanding, educated, moral mothers and wives. Both of these spheres are valid, and it is important that women don’t fight against each other in promoting their freedoms.
I agree Caitlin, that there is no such thing as a truly shared human experience. We do share common experiences, but things very dramatically especially in regards to class, race, and gender. Black women especially have different experiences and express themselves in different ways.
I think the strength in this blog post (and our readings) is talking about intersectionality which remains to be an important concept to understand. There is always a fine line for all of the identities one might possess. I was thinking about Gertrude Rainey as she balanced identities. Her famous song of “Prove it on Me Blues” has the blues singer dressed up in masculine attire and openly hitting on women in front of a policeman. Wouldn’t that push her collective identities limit?
Either way, listening is essential to dealing with identities. I am reminded of Bread Givers’ Sara. Her father would not listen to his daughters about their desires/identities. He forced his own identities onto them. In end, Sara (with her self-actualized identity) ended up listening to her father’s identities in order to get him safe. Would by listening to her father cause change or deference to her own identity?
Caitlin brings up a great point. Individuals and groups of people can certainly strive to make things better for those they identify with, but we cannot silence individual rights and wants. We still see this today in many activist groups with a passionate agenda. It does not make what the National Association of Colored Women was doing wrong, but it shows the misunderstanding and frustration that can result when individuals and groups are attempting to find their identity, purpose, and passion in their life. It all takes time and patience.
I really enjoyed this post, and I’m struck by how well your and Miranda’s posts fit together. I feel like the class differences regarding female sexuality are still very much alive and well today. Just reading the comments about Nicki Minaj, I think about how black women in the public eye are still highly criticized for being “hyper-sexual” for fear that they are promoting negative stereotypes. Issues of sexual autonomy for women is still very much an issue today.
Tori, I agree considering how black women have continued to struggle towards empowerment and not being considered “hyper sexual” is a fine line. I think an issue is what women think is beautiful. Women of all races have some lowered self esteem towards their bodies and want to be perfect. The issue is what is considered beautiful in society. White women with skinny bodies are considered beautiful in the media and women who are of mixed or black races are not often portrayed as beautiful. The issues of trying to help women realize that they all are beautiful and should have control over their own bodies is a central issue in society and the media today.