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In the history of humanity, women’s position in society significantly deteriorated with the development of agriculture and labor division. In capitalist societies, women’s primary functions focus on reproductive labor and family maintenance with minimal opportunities for self-development. The gendered division of labor had even worse consequences for Black women, whose position has been oppressed in different forms. This paper will explain how the division of labor negatively affected women’s and Black women’s positions in society throughout American history.
The roots of the gendered division of labor are sourced in the history of human evolutionary development. Before the development of agriculture, which requires the application of physical force, when men and women equally participated in the process of obtaining food through hunting and gathering, separation and subordination were not as apparent. According to Mies, the development of agricultural technologies founded on physical strength allowed the development of patriarchy (74). In order to protect the accumulated wealth and rob others, humanity developed new transportation and warfare technologies which were also primarily oriented toward the growth of patriarchal societies (Mies 74). As a result of patriarchy, the separation of men and women evolved into the subordination of women and the exaggeration and exploitation of women’s reproductive functions. Similarly, the process of wealth accumulation in capitalist development negatively affected society’s approach toward nature and its resources. People started exploiting nature’s resources instead of living in peace with nature as they did at the rise of human evolution. Thus, the development of capitalist values was founded on the principles of patriarchy, including the gendered division of labor and the exploitation of women’s reproductive labor.
Furthermore, in the Middle Ages, the prioritization of women’s position as reproductive labor in colonies was toughened by even more subordination rules and persecution of witches. The constant warfare reduced the proportion of men in the population and more working opportunities for women in craftsmanship and merchant trade (Mies 79). According to Mies, the witch hunt presented a form of control of women whose independence presented a threat to patriarchy (81). Witch trials provided a financial basis for a system of judges, lawyers, and advocates, which drained the financial resources of accused women and their families, leaving no other function for women than reproductive labor.
Next, colonialism allowed men to spread patriarchal principles to other cultures where women and men were perceived as equal. According to Mies, the need for the subordination of women was explained by the suggestion that separation between men and women grows with society or race’s progress (93). For example, woman-to-woman marriages common in African societies were perceived by Europeans as sodomy (Elnaiem). A more direct capitalistic approach to reproductive labor was practiced in calculations of whether it was profitable for a master to provide Black slave women an opportunity to give birth. Based on the calculations, the enslaved Black women’s pregnancy had a detrimental effect on the master’s wealth. Sojourner Truth’s speech refers to the unequal treatment of women where White women received help for presenting a source of reproductive labor, but all children of Black enslaved women were sold into slavery (Women’s Rights National Historical Park). Thus, Black women’s position in the gendered division of labor presented a case of triple oppression, which included sexism, classism, and racism.
Compared to the oppression of women in Western culture, the history of triple oppression towards Black women is more contemporary. Therefore, many pieces of evidence in modern history confirm that Black women continue to suffer more from the division of labor. According to Jones, in the 1940s, nearly forty percent of Black women were working for a living, compared to twenty-five percent of working White women (109). However, most of them worked in the lowest-paying jobs, earning just half of the White women’s earnings (Jones 110). Even in trade unions with a high concentration of Black women, there were few Black women active workers or leaders (Jones 114). Despite those factors, Black women continued to be “the guardian, the protector,” and breadwinners of their families (Jones 108). Thus, Black women continuously faced oppression from the American political system with a predominantly White male body.
The continuous oppression of Black Women resulted in the separation and development of the Black Feminism movement. According to the Combahee River Collective Statement, Black women embody the opposition to the rule of White Patriarchy (1). Therefore, Contemporary Black Feminism movement is needed to protect the interest of Black women in the American Political System predominantly ruled by White males (Combahee River Collective 1). Reminiscing about the death of her single Black mother, who raised her despite many financial obstacles, Taylor suggests that it was an overlap of gender, race, and social class that killed her mother. The author justifies the existence of Black Feminism by suggesting that the experiences of black women need to be clearly articulated, and there is no person more neglected in America than the Black woman (Taylor). Thus, the development of the Black Feminist movement emphasizes the negative consequences of the gendered division of labor experienced by Black women.
In conclusion, this essay examined the negative consequences of the gendered division of labor and women’s position as reproductive labor. The essay explored the historical roots of the gendered division of labor, its connections with capitalist values, and the development of patriarchy. The essay also explained that Black women are the most unprotected group in the American population as their position in society is oppressed by sexism, classism, and racism.
Works Cited
Combahee River Collective. The Combahee River Collective Statement. Zillah Eisenstein, 1978.
Elnaiem, Mohammed. “The ‘Deviant’ African Genders That Colonialism Condemned.” Daily JSTOR, 2021. Web.
Jones, Claudia. “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Woman.” Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought, edited by Beverly Guy-Sheftall, New Press, 1995, pp. 107-123.
Mies, Maria. “Colonization and Housewifization.” Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale: Women in the International Division of Labour, edited by Maria Mies, Palgrave Macmillan, 1998, pp. 74-111.
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. “Until Black Women are Free, None of Us Will Be Free: Barbara Smith and the Black feminist visionaries of the Combahee River Collective.” NewYorker, 2020, Web.
Women’s Rights National Historical Park. “Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman?” National Park Service, Web.
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