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Sexual Repression and Black Women's Sexuality

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Sexual Repression and Black Women's Sexuality View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CSUN ScholarWorks Sexual Repression and Black Women's Sexuality By: Flora Seawood Research Committee: Garry Rolison, Ph.D., Chair Sharon Elise, Ph.D. Robert Roberts, Ph.D. Master’s of Arts in Sociological Practice Cal State University San Marcos, San Marcos May 2015 1 THESIS ABSTRACT This research study examines the historical events, Black family, community, Black women’s sexuality, and religiosity. A Black critical race feminist theory gives a deeper meaning and understanding as to how Black women objectify their sexuality. The controlling images of Black women reflects the dominant group’s interest in maintaining subordination, despairs, hopelessness and sexual repression. Black women’s sexuality is often described in metaphors of speechlessness, or empty space that is simultaneously ever-visible, because Black women’s bodies are already seen as being colonized (Hammonds 1997:171). Black Females in Black churches service roles distinctively represents invisibility, because they are not recognized for their contributions in the church. For Southern Black women to rectify social inequities they participate in social service program within the Black community. Many Black female Blues artist use music as a language that express their feelings, emotions, disappointment, oppressive and repressive conditions. Music is sexual freedom to tell how they think and feel without feeling guilty. They tell composite stories about Black women’s sexuality. A multi- methodological method (qualitative and quantitative) including semi-autobiographical account of Black women’s stories and their struggles. The data analyzed was the respondents’ answers which is n=3393 samples used to test the hypothesis questions: Do Black women feel guilty thinking about sex and how often they have masturbated in the past year. My key findings is that the church represents a place of retribution for Black women and others, also sexual repressive because the patriarchal dominant control within the church who refuses to participate in educating Black women and others about their sexuality. There are many gaps in the research because the impact of this research is about how Southern rural Black women’s sexuality is constructed. Keywords: Black women, sexuality, religiosity, family, community, Blues 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I want to thank my Creator and my two therapist for being there for me through many storms. My two friends, Debra and Andrew for encouraging me never to give- up on my dream. I also want to thank the ACE Scholar Director, Mr. Mickelson for never being too busy to care and inspiring me as a formal foster youth to keep my eyes on my academic success. I want to thank my Chair person Dr. Garry Rolison whose unconditional patience and support whenever I needed someone to talk to, someone who cares and understand, someone I trust as a person and a friend, you helped me complete this project. I also want to thank Dr. Sharon Elise for her encouragement, wisdom and support which was crucial for me completing this project. You are an inspiration to Black women struggling to “OWN” their stories. Dr. Robert Roberts, thank you for the additional knowledge and support you provided to make my research project stronger. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….2 Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...5 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………….8 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………….9 Black Families……………………………………………………………………...10 Community…………………………………………………………………………11 Sexuality in the Black Church……………………………………………………...11 Black women’s Forbidden Secret…………………………………………………..13 Theoretical Approach……………………………………………………………………..15 Black Feminist Theory……………………………………………………………...15 Stereotypic Perception………………………………………………………………16 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………..16 Narratives of Sexuality………………………………………………………………17 Influence of Religiosity………………………………………………………………20 Patriarchal Control……………………………………………………………………22 Sociological Significant……………………………………………………………………...24 Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………………….25 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………25 Variable Operationalization………………………………………………………………...26 Table.1 How Often Respondent Thinks about Sex…………………………………...26 Table.2 Whether a Respondent Felt Guilty About Having Sex………………………28 4 Table.3 Whether Respondent Masturbated in the Past Year…………………………31 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………31 Findings……………………………………………………………………………………...32 Limitations of the Research…………………………………………………………..32 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………….33 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………....35 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….38 5 Black women’s Sexuality “From every tree of the garden (utopia) to satisfaction, you may take from its’ trees, but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, (which is symbolic) you must not eat from it, or touch it, for in the day you touch or eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Introduction The forbidden tree of knowledge of good and bad and Eve’s insistence that Adam eat from it is an enduring symbol of sexual restrictiveness in which women’s sexuality is targeted. Part of the reason for this was how Eve used Adam’s desire against him. In this religious construction that is the basis for much of conservative Christian thought in the United States, women were portrayed as evil, if naïve, seductresses. What is not addressed is Eve’s enticement. The serpent first had Eve commit the sin, yet Eve is punished for giving in to the serpent’s command. This biblical construction stands as a model for the women I discuss in this thesis: poor, Southern Black women attending fundamental churches who found themselves in Eve’s predicament. Black women’s restrictive sexual history in the United States goes back to the auction block. Perceptions of Black women’s sexuality have been molded by a history of slavery. Slaves exposed for sale. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division 6 The primary ingredient in the mixture of the social construction of Black women’s sexuality is how their bodies were seen as Slave women: sexual, erotic and unusual because of their full round hips, large breasts, full lips and the black skin. Horton, Oliver & Horton (2006) comments on the harsh treatments that female slaves had to endure because of the construction of their sexuality as savage. Africans on the slave bark Wildfire. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. For example, the selling of slaves allowed the naked bodies of Black women to be stripped naked and placed in full view of the public. In short, this allowed Black women to be visually and physically violated. Enslaved women had no voice or intervention measures in place to protect their rights as human beings. The enslaved woman’s body was the sellers’ and her buyer (bell hooks 1981:52-53). Their bodies came along with a bonus, free sex because the white man had the rights to have sex whenever they desired. Black women were vulnerable and powerless victims (bell hooks1981:53). They had little choice about their sexuality. https://likeawhisper.wordpress.com/ 7 Karabo Mkhabela (2014) notes that enslaved African women were raped by their owners, who distorted their deeds with the notion that White men were doing Black women a favor by saving them from sex with Black men who were considered to be animalistic and brutal. This statement reflects how Black sexuality was regarded by Whites as dangerous and dark unknown “jungles” (Spivak 1999). This comparative image of Black women’s sexuality as dark, wicked and dangerous is the portrait that White patriarch use to eliminate them from identity formation (Spivak 1999). This treatment of Black women justified the ruthless exploitation of their sexual labor. Statement of the Problem This research examines how Southern rural Black women constructed their sexuality and concerns related issues of repression. The above racist imagery and its impact was made very clear to Black women in the South. Religious thought told them that virginity was an absolute necessity before marriage but the reality was their sexuality was up for grabs by almost everyone. Once, a friendly conversation with a group of Black women friends, “Mary’ (pseudo) told a story that had affected her for years. As Mary explained how her classmate, a fifth grader, was raped by three White boys, tears streamed down her face. This crime was committed against a vulnerable Black girl because White men in the South had the privilege and power to control whomever they pleased, with no age limits. However, the victim was considered ruined in the Black community, no longer fit for marriage, because Black women were held responsible for their sexual abuse. One theme consistent in these stories was an agreement that, as young girls, Black women received too little information from the right sources, and too much information from the wrong ones. Wyatt (1977) argues that sexuality is still unfinished business for Black women 8 today. She explains, that in a society increasingly obsessed with sex, too many people, white and black, hold the dangerous view that black women must either ignore their sexuality altogether or be perpetually sexually available. The construction of Black women’s sexuality through coercion continue and repression is a key concern of this thesis. Review of the Literature Scholars who study Black women¹s
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