Paper Sample on White Superiority Over Black: 12 Years a Slave Showcases Brutal History

The movie “12 Years a Slave” shows an imperious association between a black woman and a white woman. In the movie, Epps, a white woman brutalizes Patsey, a black woman whom Epps accuses of having extra affairs with her husband. The savagery faced by the female slaves under mistresses is of higher magnitude than under their masters. This fact showcases that the historical relationship between a white woman and a black woman is brutal. The superiority of the white race over the black race is historical. Whites passed laws like the Black Code that allowed white men to physically and economically control the African-America (Turnbull 7). The low socioeconomic status of black women is one reason that explains a poor association between white women and black women (Perry et al.2). White masters in the movie humiliated their wives by sexually assaulting black slaves. In return, white women reiterated by showing their superiority by oppressing the enslaved black women to preserve their social status over the women of color (Hadley 1).

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Conclusion

Various factors shape and inform our social identity. Historically, societies evaluated women’s identities based on sexual orientation, social class, and race (Accapadi 209). Because of this, there is a huge difference between the womanhood of the whites and the womanhood of the blacks (Accapadi 209). Negative stereotyping of the black woman by the white woman is something common, which is the roots of the social injustice of the black race (Accapadi 209). Feinstein (1) notes that white women played a vital role in the sexual harassment of the enslaved black woman, especially their husbands. The analysis above demonstrates that the poor relationship between the black woman is an issue inculcated historically in America.

Work cited

“12 Years A Slave”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg. Accessed 3 June 2020.

Accapadi, Mamta Motwani. "When White Women Cry: How White Women's Tears Oppress Women of Color." College Student Affairs Journal 26.2 (2007): 208-215. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ899418.pdf. Accessed 3 June 2020.

Feinstein, Rachel. "Intersectionality and the role of white women: an analysis of divorce petitions from slavery." Journal of Historical Sociology 30.3 (2017): 545-560. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/johs.12125. Accessed 3 June 2020.

Hadley. F. “12 Years a Slave exposes the brutal relationship between white and black women of the era”. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/07/12-years-a-slave-white-and-black-women-steve-mcqueen Accessed 3 June 2020.

Perry, Brea L., Kathi LH Harp, and Carrie B. Oser. "Racial and gender discrimination in the stress process: Implications for African American women's health and well-being." Sociological Perspectives 56.1 (2013): 25-48. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article. Accessed 3 June 2020.

Turnbull, Lindsey L. "White and Black Woman hoods And Their Representations In 1920s American Advertising." (2012). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/johs.12125. Accessed 3 June 2020.