Brenda Ramirez on Undivided Rights

In Undivided Rights, an incredible point was made regarding African American women and their struggle in trying to attain reproductive justice. However, in order to do so, it’s imperative that we know the origins of reproductive exploitation and its roots in rape, forced marriages, sterilization abuse, etc.

Reading about the ways in which African American women were exploited made me think about just how common these narratives are among women of color. The text goes on to say that not only were they exploited, but they were seen as breeders and sexually promiscuous. Their sense of humanity was literally stripped from them and they were equated to animals. I think this ideology of black women and other women of color are being depicted as only sexual objects remains relevant to our society today. We know that this objectification of black women’s bodies continues to exist in the way our society actively portrays and treats them.

Although our society continues to sexualize and glorify black women’s bodies, they do nothing for the well-being of black women. Our society has consistently permitted a misogynist and racist rhetoric of black women to avoid being held accountable for their lack of action regarding reproductive rights. In turn, the lack of reproductive justice and overall medical treatment of black women have intersected with factors such as poverty to create a window which puts black women at higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, etc. I think many people who don’t see or understand why this is such an important issue completely grasp the fact that this isn’t just about the amount of black women’s bodies who are disproportionately suffering the consequences of these narratives. This issue is much bigger in a sense that it also directly affects, black women’s entire communities.

As I previously mentioned, the objectification of black women as sexual objects and not human beings is prevalent in our society. Corporations, for instance, have used the bodies of black women to advertise their products as being “exotic”. In this way, companies use black women’s body to make their products more desirable. These kinds of marketing techniques serve as a way to continue to exploit women as sexual objects while also using racist ideals to justify this objectification. However, these same companies profiting from using black women’s bodies as marketing techniques have no involvement in movements to support black women’s struggle for reproductive justice or anything else for that matter.

How you think that racist and misogynist narratives have affected black women today? After all of these years, why do you think this continues to occur?