Jezebel
Does she still exist in today’s society?
What does it mean to be a black woman in America? The simple answer to this question is that we are considered sexual objects for men. The idea that black women are built and made to be an object of pleasure for men is deeply rooted in America’s history. According to Dr. David Pilgrim, a Professor of Sociology at Ferris State University, during the slave era black women were portrayed as “seductive, alluring, worldly, beguiling, tempting, and lewd”.Coincidently, these characteristics parallel with the characteristics of Jezebel in the Bible who was also known for her seductive tendencies and inability to resist sexual encounters. This stereotype not only became the symbol for African American women making them obvious targets for sexual violence, but it also depicted black women as the cause and not the victim of a heinous crime such as this. In an article written by Kimberle Crenshaw article titled Mapping the Margins she states that “in the context of the rape trial, the formal definition of rape as well as the evidentiary rules applicable in a rape trial discriminate against women by measuring the rape victim against a narrow norm of acceptable sexual conduct for women. Deviation from that norm trends to turn women into illegitimate rape victims, leading to the rejection of their claims”. The sexual conduct that is assumed for black women is one that greatly differs from what is considered acceptable sexual conduct, which leads to them not being seen as rape victims, when most of them are. Many argue that that our society no longer view African American women as illegitimate rape victims because the jezebel stereotype no longer exists, but this is inaccurate because we can see in many ways how the jezebel stereotype is still played out in today’s media.
An example of where this stereotype is reflected in television shows that portray black women as being similarly promiscuous to Jezebel. In the television series Scandal, we see the presence of the Jezebel stereotype through the main character Oliva Pope and her relationship with her employer, the president of the United States. Throughout the series viewers learn that she is having an extramarital affair with the president, and even though she tries to cut ties with the president she cannot resist his charm, leading to the continuance of their romantic relationship. Her character reflects the black Jezebel stereotype because she illustrates the thirst and angst for sex that black women are believed to have, even though she knows that it is morally wrong. Another example this can be seen in the television show Hawthorne which paints the main character, Christina Hawthorne, as an African American woman who is grieving the loss off her husband and also learning how to deal with challenges that come with being a single mother with a demanding job. This series attempts to debunk the jezebel myth associated with black women by illustrating Christina Hawthorne as a woman who is virtuous, and who refrains from indulging in sexual relations with other men, but the stereotype still presents itself in the show through the use of certain characters. For example, a character known as Fay who is unfamiliar with who Christina really is, assumes during a conversation that she is a woman who constantly keeps men around when she states “Oh, come on! Look at you! I’m sure you have a date every other night”.This encounter models how our society generalizes promiscuity to all black women, which is far from the truth. All in all, television shows continue to keep the jezebel stereotype alive which contributes to the reason why black women actual claims of sexual violence are discredited.
I also want to specify the role that music plays in degradation of black women. Crenshaw provides an example of this in hip hop when she writes about the group 2 Live Crew who were arrested, but later acquitted after a federal judge ruled that their lyrics in Nasty as They Wanna Be were “obscene”. A columnist who wrote on this case argued that the song contained lyrics that portrayed Black women as fitting targets for sexual assault. Crenshaw sarcastically points out how the description of the lyrics being sexually explicit is an understatement when she states “listening to Nasty, we hear about ‘cunts’ being ‘fucked’ until backbones are cracked ,’asses’ being ‘busted’ , ‘dicks’ rammed down throats , and semen splattered across faces. Black women are” ‘cunts’ ‘bitches,’ and all-purpose ‘hos’ “. Categorizing black women as “ ‘bitches ,and all-purpose hos’ “ translates into modern day words used to describe the our modern day Jezebel. Song lyrics don’t necessarily bring the black Jezebel to life, but music videos do . An example of this can be seen in Lilly Allen’s song “Hard out Here”. The Women’s Media Center , a website dedicated towards equality in the media ,asserts that “While the song’s lyrics seem to promote many feminist values by calling out “ ‘patriarchal double standards’ and criticizing societal norms such as slut-shaming, the music video contradicts these very values”. In this video Allen sings “Don’t need to shake my ass for you cause I’ve got brain “, in which she is then shown in the midst of a group of black women dancing provocatively. Being presented in a way that depicts African American women as hypersexual beings reiterates my claim that the Jezebel stereotype is still present in our society, and it also provides an explanation behind why African American women are seen as illegitimate rape victims
Through this argument I hoped that I have achieved one thing, and that is to make you critically think about the way our society views black women and how this contributes to their voices being silenced. In order to move away from viewing black women as hypersexual beings, it is crucial for us to understand the mighty influence this stereotype has on the way people interpret sexual violence allegations reported by black women.
