The popular image of black women seen in handkerchiefs covering their unruly hair, not holding intelligent conversation, and as very obese also served to mediate the tense sexual relations between white men and black women in the antebellum and post Civil War era in the U.S. The image of black mammy served to “desexualize” the black woman who would be in such close proximity to the powerful white male.
As we examine the research done on mammies, we will find that this view of black women is incomplete and inaccurate. Yet, this perspective of black women has greatly shaped the economic success of black women in America and has led to further misconceptions of black women in the present day.
more after the jump...
The handkerchief head wasn't to cover unruly hair on the plantation--it was to keep the hair nice for church on sunday--the scarves came off then--they wore their hair that way in the field-----blacks used to use lambs cards to straighten their hair, before the hotcomb became popular (lambs cards were used to comb the wool into a less tangled mess, and slaves heated theirs up a bit)being careful not to burn---Mammie is irish-gaelic for mommy
ReplyDeleteAnon said:
ReplyDelete"...blacks used to use lambs cards to straighten their hair, before the hotcomb became popular (lambs cards were used to comb the wool into a less tangled mess, and slaves heated theirs up a bit)being careful not to burn---Mammie is irish-gaelic for mommy."
An Interesting bit of history Anon. I certainly learned something!!