Female Slaves and Sexual Exploitation
Slavery has often been criticized for various factors and the experience of several female slaves clearly manifests why slavery was a bitter reality for the blacks. One crude aspect of slavery from the perspectives of female slaves has been linked to their sexual exploitation, and often the black slave women have fallen prey to the ulterior intentions of their masters. As the experience of Harriet Jacobs demonstrates, every black woman faced the issue of sexual exploitation by white men in the South. Harriet Jacobs’ master, Dr. Norcom was particularly interested in her and wanted her to submit to him sexually.
According to the cruel master, the slave was not of any advantage of having her sexual rights as well and the black slave women could only submit themselves to the demands of the master. The experiences of Harriet Jacobs illustrate the pathetic fate of black women and how she has suffered the sexual harassments of her master right from childhood. Samuel Tredwell Sawyer a young attorney, whom she perceived as a ray of hope for her, also took advantage of the situation. However, there was something noble about the relation with Samuel Tredwell Sawyer, who was nearly a savior for her. On the whole, Harriet Jacob’s experiences eloquently demonstrate the sexual exploitation of the black women slaves at the hands of their White masters.
Motherhood for Female Slaves
In a profound analysis of Harriet Jacob’s situation, one finds that there is remarkable difference between the experiences of a white mother and a black mother and the concept of motherhood becomes totally different between these two classes. To a slave woman, motherhood was always a bitter experience with no real advantage of making any decision on the affairs of her children. She always found the superior hands of the master interfering in every matter concerning her children.
She had no say in the matters concerning her children’s future instead, the master decided it. The children were sometimes sold off or sent to the slave plantations etc, and the mother could do little to ensure the safety of the children. As the experience of Harriet Jacobs demonstrates, sometimes the relation with the children also hindered the freedom and progress of the slave mothers.
Harriet Jacobs as an Abolitionist
The efforts of Harriet Jacobs, the first woman slave to write an autobiography telling her experience as a slave woman, can be seen as one of the strong appeals for a notional fight for the rights of black women experiencing sexual exploitation at the hands of their masters.
This plea for universal efforts to deal with the problems of women in the South, will be responded with great deeds of brotherhood and her words are so strong to convince the people of every sector about the formidable situation of the black women in the South. As a Northerner of the 1850s, I would be one of the first ones to respond to the plea made by Harriet Jacobs who is successful in convincing me about her bitter experience. Her acts and experiences will be circulated among the people and strong agitation in favor of this Abolitionist will be sought.
The response to the observations by others
The video clipping about the experience of Harriet Jacobs was powerful in eliciting strong responses from others and their observations are basic to a better understanding of the experience of Harriet Jacobs. Kieu Lam has been found right in making the comment that Dr. Norcom is a disgusting, obscene and perverted old man and the video clippings substantiates this statement. Kieu Lam also places his reasons for considering Dr. Norcom so.
According to him, Norcom just wanted to convince and compel Harriet to submit to him, though he did not want to force her and he always reminded her that she belonged to him. He makes lewd remarks whenever he gets an opportunity to find Harriet alone with him. I completely agree with Lam that the experience of Harriet illustrated the issue sexual exploitation of black women by white men at that time. The observation about Sawyer, who was a young master and lover of Harriet, is also convincing and the remark that he was a safe haven for Harriet gives a complete picture about Sawyer.
Joe Aguilar’s observation regarding the motherhood of black women provides a relevant clarification about the experience of black women as seen in the video. Joe remarks that motherhood of enslaved women was very different from that of white women, observing that their control of the children was only secondary to that of the master and that they had no say in the matter if the master wanted to sell or trade their children. In such cases, one could only beg, plead or bargain, which only strengthened the power that these slaveholders held over their slaves. These observations seem to be valid in the case of Harriet who experienced a similar fate at the hands of Dr. Norcom.
The predicament that Harriet’s unique relationship with Samual Sawyer and their two children made things somewhat more difficult for her to get away can be realized and Joe gives the complete picture of the experience of black mothers citing the example of Harriet.
Candis Clark makes a clear observation regarding what she could do or how she would react to Jacobs’ experiences if she lived in a northern state in the 1850s. According to her, she would be appalled and disgusted about the ill-treatment of the slaves and especially of the women slaves. She wishes to do great deeds, though she is not sure how much a woman such as her would actually be able to do anything drastic about the problem. She knows that many women were prohibited to have a voice in that era.
She makes a reasonable plan about dealing with the issue and she would forward her strong messages to her powerful white husband and urge him to push the issue of abolishing slavery. This seems to be interesting, but of course comes from a realization of the ground realities. Therefore, every observation made here has a great appeal to the issues discussed in this paper.