African American Women Between the Social Cracks
Kindred is set between the past and the future, where the protagonist Dana travels in time to the 1800s, meeting her ancestors and experiencing the atrocities of slavery. Dana, like the other female slaves, had a disadvantage as she was a woman. In essence, she faced a double layer of oppression, where she was less than the white person and less than the black man; falling into a crack in the social order. The intersectionality of her race and gender plays a big role in differentiating the experience of slavery between black men and black women. It also makes her experience more relatable to the modern reader.
Kimberle Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and scholar of critical race theory devised the concept of intersectionality. As presented in the video, she explains that race and gender are intertwined burning issues that are often discussed seperatly when they needed to be discussed together. She examines intersectionality within the scope of American law, stating that judges do not have any way to deal with the wrongs committed to women of color because judges would often look at it either as a racial issue or a gender issue. She believes the issue with American law is that it does not recognize the intersection of exclusionary positions and identities which hinders the wellbeing of African American women (Smith 49). Linking Crenshaw’s concept to Kindred, it is very clear that the women in the novel are aware of it. For instance, when Dana feels the need to escape the oppression she faces under Master Rufus’ roof, she decides to do her best to dress as a boy stating,
Thus, alluding that her movements as a black man would not be questioned as much as if she tried escaping as a black woman.“I had decided to become a boy. In the loose, shabby, but definitely male clothing I had chosen, my height and my contralto voice would get me by. I hoped” (Butler 170).
The text also discusses another form of abuse that female slaves had to endure; sexual violence. The novel sheds light on Alice, the slave Rufus constantly raped and abused. In essence, slave owners could turn their slaves in sex objects without any consequences. When Alice was made a slave, Rufus had the intention of having sexual relations with her whether she liked it or not. However, he attempted to ease her into it, asking Dana to talk her into willingly going to his bed. Still, Dana expressed “Rufe, nothing you say to me is going to ease your way to Alice” (Butler 163). When Dana gave up and eventually told Alice what was going around Rufus’s head, Alice asked for advice. Dana replied that she could not give advice, as it was Alice’s body. To which, Alice commented, “Not mine [Alice’s body], his. He paid for it, didn’t he?” (Butler 167). This conversation showcases Alice’s awareness that her body would not be hers as long as she was a slave. She also needed to give in to her master’s sexual desires seeing that she is a woman. Thus, both Alice’s race and gender were a burden.
The intersectionality of race and gender is still a prominent issue in the everyday lives of African American women. Centuries later after slavery, they still face the issue of being inferior to both the white person and the African American man. Intersectionality is used as a tool in media, music, and literature to explore its current impact.
This can also be presented in the slam poetry voiceclip playing. The voiceclip is only one of many narrations of the struggles of black women, where it has been highlighted by women ranging from Sorojourner Truth to Beyonce. The understanding and struggles of being a black woman has evolved and shifted, where new concerns have risen. Still the life of the average black woman is different than that of a black man. Therefore, the fact that Kindred became a bestseller could be attributed to the novel’s success in discussing the relationship between race and gender, where it is still a reality to many people living in America.
References
Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Beacon, 2003
Smith, Bonnie G. Women's Studies the Basics . Routledge, 2013.