Labor Meant for Black and White Women in the 19th – 20th Centuries
theme:Compare and contrast what reproductive labor meant for Black and White women in the 19th – 20th centuries. Your analysis must identify major political, legal, economic, social, and/or cultural forces that have affected their experience.
Please note:1. Your essay must have an original thesis (i.e., argument) supported by strong evidence from the readings, films, and lectures.2. Your essay must reflect your deep understanding of the notion of intersectionality explained by readings and lectures. Make sure to provide your definition of intersectionality in your essay and explain how your essay reflects the notion.3. Your essay must reflect your understanding of all the lectures and discussions. You must use all the relevant key notions and facts from the lectures.4. You must use all of the following readings. Make sure to provide the author’s last name in parenthesis after a paragraph or sentence in which you used information from the particular reading.
Notes:
I will look for an original thesis supported by a strong argument and a wide range of evidence. Your essay will be graded on how well it:
a) Reflects your deep understanding of all the course materials.
b) Demonstrates your ability to evaluate documents critically.
c) Demonstrates your ability to collect evidence from a wide range of readings and lectures and support your argument effectively.
d) Articulates the significance of each item (including idea, person, etc.) that you are examining.
e) Connects the details to larger themes and issues.
f) Holds together as a coherent essay (i.e. Pay attention to transitions and over-all organization.)
g) Demonstrates your original and imaginative thinking.
h) Demonstrates your ability to write clearly free from grammatical errors and typos.
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Labor Meant for Black and White Women in the 19th – 20th Centuries
Before the gains made in labor force participation for women, during the early 19th century, women were expected to be the able to uphold values of democracy, stability, and morality by ensuring that they made their homes a special place, a sanctuary where their husbands could find peace after a long rigorous day at work. (Catherine 4). Women in general were regarded as fragile creatures with delicate features that made it difficult for them to participate in demanding activities as men. However, there was a general feeling that white women were more delicate compared to the black women. For this reason, there was a feeling that sick black women could still fill in on their duties as slaves without the need to have any rest (White, Henry, and Campbell 109).
During the civil war in the U.S, while black women maintained their roles as slave laborers, white women on the other hand found employment in factories that were manufacturing uniforms used during the war. At the end of the war, most of the white women languished in poverty as the factories collapsed. However, as rebuilding started factories started giving women more opportunities. Black women had narrow ranges of opportunities compared to the white women. Small manufacturing plants never gave black women employment opportunities while they hired white women in sections that manufactured clothing, candy, textiles, bookbinding, paper boxes, and straw goods (Tera 237). Most black women worked in private households for the rich whites. The roles they performed were nearly the same as those they did during slavery; the only difference now is that they were free. Some few black women were able to find jobs related to the ones they did in private homes in hotels. This was a step above working in private homes.
Skilled jobs outside domestic service was desired by most black women but they found them difficult to come by. However, a few black women were able to follow the white women and escape the common labor market, finding employment as teachers. Even when the African American women would find employment is manufacturing companies like the white women, they would often be subjected to low ages, unpleasant tasks, ill treatment, and long hours. Most of them voiced their disdain over such kinds of treatments and some of them even quit their jobs as a way of protesting (Tera 237). Using the theory of intersectionality, which asserts that people are often disadvantaged through a number of oppression sources such as gender, class, and race, can help to explain the treatment that was meted against black women (Smith 7). The women were mistreated mostly because they were female and black and as such were perceived to be of a lower social class compared to the white women.
In the late 19th century to the early 20th century, women were still confined to working in occupations that ranged from agriculture, domestic services, and clerical work. However, the best paying jobs were still reserved for the white women. Today, the black women have made significant progress but the domination of the white women still continue...