Dear Danielle McGuire,
I found your essay interesting and
informative, but also, of course, deeply disturbing. Your thorough examination
of sexual violence against Black women is vitally important, but this doesn’t
make it any more difficult to read.
I was particularly interested in
your point that white men’s concern about rape was (is?) nothing but a
political tool. White men only cared about protecting white women from rape to
the extent that their care helped uphold their social power through white supremacy.
They did not care about sexual violence against women of color, particularly
Black women. Significantly, they did not care about sexual violence perpetrated
by white men against white women. Only sexual violence by men of color
(particularly Black men) against white women led to any amount of concern or
protection for rape victims. Sexual violence against women of all races is a
prevalent and gravely serious issue, and when white men use sexual violence
against white women as an excuse to uphold white supremacy, it trivializes this
problem.
This is clearly still an issue –
whether or not rape victims are “believed” still depends heavily on whether or
not it is politically or personally expedient for white men to believe them.
And I see a similarly offensive strategy used by conservatives who want to
restrict bathroom access to transgender individuals. Once again, sexual assault
against women (almost always inherently framed as “nice white ladies”) is used
as a tool to restrict the rights of a marginalized group. These same men do not
seem to care about sexual assault against, say, trans individuals. When the
idea of rape is used as a political tool against minority and marginalized
groups, it delegitimizes an extremely serious issue. Until concern about sexual
violence crosses racial, class, and gender lines, the fight against assault
will be at best skin deep and at worst a tool of oppression.
Thank you for your perspective!
Sincerely,
Molly Culhane
I agree with your and Danielle McGuire's analysis that rape is used as a means of control--whether upholding white supremacy or a particular political agenda. I still don’t completely understand why rape is effective at upholding these social agendas. Perhaps it's supposed to spark fear in people, similar to terrorism, and coerce people into "conforming" to the social order or "behaving." Or perhaps it's the most obvious symbol of oppression and dehumanizing action possible--stripping someone of control over their body. But I don't completely understand why white men such as those that raped Betty Jean Owens viewed African American women as a threat to their white supremacy agenda. Although equally horrific, saddening, and unfair, I can better understand violence against African American men than women, as African American men would seem to be a more “direct threat” to white supremacy.
ReplyDeleteIn order to try to change this system of oppression, I think trying to better understand the ways that sexual violence achieves these political aims might be part of the solution.
Your comparison to anti-transgender laws we are fighting today is a very good one. You are right that a similar rhetoric is used to create fear around trans people. There is a need for men/white/cisgendered (straight, upperclass, etc.) people to fabricate a portrayal of minorities as posing a physical threat, when really the only threat is to the status quo and institutions that benefit men/white/cisgendered people. Similar tactics are used to keep the rich scared of the violent, menacing poor. By convincing white women to be afraid of black men (or trans women), white males are protecting their status in several ways as they are making it more difficult for either group to gain rights and equality. The continued oppression of black men is tied to the oppression of white women (and all groups) because as long as white men are unchallenged and operate as the ruling class, they will continue to oppress minorities, women and low-income groups.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned white men using rape as a "political tool." McGuire also notes that "black leaders from all over the country eagerly used the rape case for their own political purposes as well," in reference to the Owens case (p. 920). I wish McGuire had discussed this a bit more. The Owens case did become a rallying point for the black community to push their agenda, but it was necessary and aimed to improve the lives of black men and women. How do we gather around atrocities and try to make change in their aftermath without being exploitative? Our attachment to victims of police murder and brutality is justified and has become a rallying point, but at the end of the day we are using their deaths for our political/human rights purposes.
^I'm very interested to hear what people think about this, I will try to bring it up in class.