Black Women in Society

By: Teneka Hudson

As a black woman in today’s society, I would say that I agree with some aspects of womanism and feminism. There are also many aspects that I disagree with in regard to the topic.

In consideration to how a black woman was treated during slavery in this country, I think about how she was used to make our country so powerful. She was used as a maid/nanny, farmer and the white man’s recreation. As a maid/nanny, she cleaned, cooked and raised her master’s children. She even raised her own children which came secondary to the chores set by her master. She worked in the cotton and rice fields on hot summer days. Even though she was overworked, she still maintained the black beauty that attracted both black and white men. I once owned a shirt that said “When God created the black women, he was just showing off.” I would have to agree with that statement because no matter how bad the condition, the black women maintained her beauty, culture and pride that would empower many generations thereafter.

It deeply saddens me to see black women in today’s society that exploit themselves in the public with no consideration to black history. I sometimes wonder do they know or do they just don’t care. I work in a public place where black women come in the office with hair rollers, hair bonnets for sleeping, sleeping clothes, head scarfs and poor hygiene. They dress inappropriately revealing all of the assets that make them so beautiful. They leave nothing to a man’s imagination. They hunt men when they are not designed to hunt. They talk about why it is so hard to find a good man. They have children by different men and then then they rely on the court system to make the black men pay for their loss of respect for themselves. The court system is a new and improved form of a master. If a woman would follow the rules set by the creator and get married before sex or at least childbearing, I feel that their chances of a healthy fatherhood would last longer and give children the black father experience they deserve. Black women are very powerful creatures, but they misuse it and underutilize their god given power in today’s society. It is clear to me that the slave masters recognized the power of black women many years ago. They used their power to accomplish all of the great things that made them rich that they were not capable of accomplishing on their own.

It is true that there are a lot of educated black women that have attended college and obtained successful careers. I have a high respect for them. I have worked with a lot of educated black and white women. It is my belief that sometimes a black woman in a leadership role can be her own demise, if her insecurities out way the leadership role. I believe that this situation is due to the fact that they have forgotten their heritage or feel that they don’t owe anyone for their hard work and accomplishments. My belief is that a woman especially a black woman in leadership should always assist in helping another black woman reach her full potential. Most races empower within the race but the black race is weak in this area. I wonder what would happen if the black race would do more to empower within.

Womanism VS feminism is really very similar in that women deserve equal rights. They work hard to accomplish the same success as men. In my opinion, there are boundaries that women should not overstep. I feel that in order to know those boundaries, a woman must seek the knowledge of the Holy Bible and know that their purpose in life was set a long time ago by our creature, Lord, God Almighty.