Anyone read women race and class by angela davis?

Question

can you summarize the chapter on the myth of the black rapist? the more details the better. thanks.

Answer 1

It's related to the myth of the "Black Whore", another form of hypersexualization of blacks as being animals and unable to control their urges. It was also the myth that was used to justify lynching (though lynching goes back to the lynching of white abolitionists and after abolition, black men were first lynched as conspirators and insurgents) as based on the need to protect the virtue of white women from savage black men, when the failure of Reconstruction made the fear of black men as a political threat a non-issue.

Connected issues are the minimization (and justification, through the "Black Whore" myth) of the rape of black women by white men and the demonization of black men as rapists.

EDIT

Actually, statistics such as that one show that blacks are nine times as likely to be convicted of rape. Most rapes are thought to go unreported and "stranger rape" (which cross-racial sexual assault is likely to be) is more often reported than acquaintance rape Furthermore, if we just take those statistics at face value, then white men raping black women happens almost NEVER - it is statistically insignificant. But do you really believe that white men never rape black women? They did it quite a lot during slavery.

No. The statistics reflect the inequalities of the criminal justice system more than anything. Rape often comes down to credibility. A black man raping a white woman is easiest to convict and a white man raping a black woman is most difficult to convict.

Answer 2

Barking Lunchbox, did you know that most people are racially mixed even if they won't admit it? You say that blacks comprise only 12% of the population but what about the biracial and multiracial people? Where do they fit into this? They're automatically classified as being black even when they look more like another race. Many people believe if someone has darker skin, then that person is black even if that person could be mostly of Asian or Native American descent. Look at the example of golfer Tiger Woods. He keeps being called black even though he is of mostly Asian descent while someone like Mariah Carey is considered white even though she is at least one quarter black.

Answer 3

yeah. I guess (at least if you can believe the U.S. Department of Justice statistics), it's well, baloney.

Latest figures, depending on which year or breakdown you look at, indicate that blacks commit between 43.9 and 47.0 percent of the rapes in this country, and since blacks comprise only 12 something percent of the U.S. population, they are, statistically, almost nine times as likely to commit rape as whites are.

Yeah, I know I'll get blasted for saying this. But all I can say is it's a bit sad when the truth is no longer a defense.

Answer 4

Yes, I read it back in College back in the dark ages. I wish I could remember it, but I don't.

Answer 5

Anyone want to talk about hip hop and objectification? Oh well...