Was life on the plantation a patriarchy? Review your notes from our lecture in the interrogatory. You should have many reflections on the images and video (Lizzy Mae, "Ask a Slave") that we examined as a part of this gender focused discussion. USE these reflections to comment on "What life was like on the Plantation."
50 comments:
To be honest, it has been kind of tough for me to decide whether life on the plantation was a patriarchy or not. There are plenty of ways to argue that it was. For example, the plantations were run by white males. However, I think that there are more ways to justify that life on the plantation was not a patriarchy but was a matriarchy. One example of this is the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, meaning "the child follows the condition of the mother". If the mother was a slave, the child was a slave and if the mother was free, the child was free. Also, slave women were a way to get free slaves (through rape or slave marriage). Another example of why life on the plantation was not a patriarchy was the fact that black women practically raised plantation owner's children. They were called "mammies" and they were like mothers to the children. So, in my opinion, life on the plantation appears to be a patriarchy but it's really not. I wouldn't say that it is ran by women, but behind-the-scenes, slavery certainly could not have been possible without women.
I think that life on the plantation was not a patriarchy but I also don't think it was run by women either. I think it was a Totalitarian society because it was not really run by all men equally but was instead dominated by rich white male southerners that had total control of power in America at the time. For example we watched a video in class that was from gone with the wind and the woman getting dressed was not going to eat her breakfast. I think that had to do with what rich white men wanted women to look like and it seemed that slave families had this to. I think it had something to do with seeing it in their society, they adapted to it like the painting we saw titled Slavery! Slavery! with the monkey child thing following the woman we said was monkey see monkey do. The point of Totalitarianism is that society is run by only those who have the most power and in that time the people who owned more land and were rich white slave owners were the ones with power. Rich white men also came up with partus sequitur ventrem which is latin for "the child follows the condition of the mother". So to make sure that the child was a slave they raped African slaves women to make more labor and as a way to save money. Even though mammies (slave women who took care of plantation owners children) were important to plantation life it still isn't enough to say that its a patriarchy because the children they raised, male or female, would one day learn to order around their mammy so it really doesn't count as evidence to either patriarchy or matriarchy . The only thing it proves is that rich white men say that since your white you are better than everyone, but we know that they still considered poor whites nothing but let them believe they are equal. All in all, I think that the plantation society was Totalitarian and even though white men seemed to dominate women, rich white men dominated everyone.
I think the plantation society had moments of being patriarchal and not patriarchal. There were times were men took over and dominated society and there were times when they did not. Fathers names were in bibles as members and heads of families. So men have more say then women do. I think it is fascinating that if the mom is a slave then then the child is automatically a slave. That really stood out to me because the child can not switch classes, they have to stay in that class which is very sad.
I think that life on the plantation was a patriarchy. Someone mentioned that some slave women became "mammies." However, that role was not empowering for those slave women. Why would a slave want to take care of their master's children? It was just another way to keep them oppressed. Eric mentioned that rich white men dominated everyone, including poor white men. While that is true, poor white men still had more power than poor white women, even if their power was limited. Also, the wives of slave owners, while more powerful than slave women, had no control over their husbands(as we saw in "12 Years a Slave"). The partus sequitur ventrem was not done to benefit women, but to benefit men. The law allowed them to rape their slaves without consequence; they didn't have to recognize the resulting child as their own son. There really is not much evidence suggesting that plantation life was anywhere near matriarchal. The majority of Western culture has been patriarchal throughout history, so it really is no surprise that a society that focuses on power and control would be patriarchal.
If you were to ask this question to people who have not researched more about the topic they would all agree that life on the plantation was patriarchy. That's the way it is typically described. I don't fairly agree with that description. An example would be how when the mother is a slave the child is a slave, or if the mother is free the child is free. Another example is in the story where the white male was beating the women and she still screamed at him no matter what. It turned out the male never touched the slave ever again. That shows that women did have some power. I don't agree on that the black women raising the children showed the matriarchy. They were forced to raise the children. They hadn't ask to, they were told to. Overall my opinion is that life on the plantation was not typically patriarchy. There were times when it was, times when it was not.
I agree with Dara, it is difficult to decide whether life on the plantation was patriarchal, and I still have mixed feelings about it. The patriarchal argument can be supported by the rape of slave women. Not only did whites rape slave women to assert their authority, but it was also to show slave men that they were inferior. The slave men had no power to do anything when their wives, daughters, mothers, etc. were being dehumanized. It was emasculating. The rapists were not only targeting the women, but the men as well. When slaves had children, the fathers' names were recorded in family Bibles and were listed as the head of the family as well, showing their importance in slave family life. However, slave family life was also matriarchal, and on birth records held by the plantation, the name of the father is usually omitted, thus supporting the argument that life was matriarchal. There is also the partus sequitur ventrem doctrine stating the offspring follows the condition of the mother. If the mother was a slave, then her children were as well. Again, this emphasizes the importance of the role of women in plantation life. Overall, I wouldn't say that life on the plantation was completely patriarchal/matriarchal. There are times where women's role are emphasized more, and there are times where the roles of men are emphasized as well.
Through all these discussions in class we had about plantations, I am still undecided. I agree with Dara's opinion but I also agree with Elizabeth's reasoning. Plantation society wasn't completely patriarchal but it wasn't completely matriarchal either. It was more likely that male masters would own the plantation and start it, that is a reason that life on plantation could be patriarchal. But without women there would be no offspring's of slaves, the concept of partus sequitur ventrem allows the children of a slave mother to be a slave also, and if the mother was free then their children would be free. On another hand males masters had total control of their property and can do whatever they would like, they could rape a female slave or a male slave if they preferred. So therefore I agree with Elizabeth.There were times when patriarchy was emphasized and times when matriarchy was emphasized too.
I think Life on the Plantation was patriarchal. Most of the slave owners were male. These males usually had wives. The slaves obeyed the wives still, but I think the slaves felt the wives didn’t have as much power over them like the males. Even some wives feared their own husbands. Those husbands presented themselves with an essence to make all women fear them. Men had power in the house and on the plantation. The male slave owners could rape the women slaves. Even Thomas Jefferson, a respected man who was our third president was a slave owner. He raped all of his slaves. Women slaves had more to fear than male slaves. The slave owners also had weapons for the slaves to fear of. If enough cotton wasn’t picked they would be brutally whipped. I agree that sometimes it is not patriarchal. A woman’s role determined there child’s role. If the mother was a slave the child was a slave. If the mother was free the child was free. It didn’t matter what the role of the father was the child’s future was based on the mothers. So life on the plantation is patriarchal but can be matriarchal at times.
Since patriarchy is a form of social organization in which males dominate females, I feel that slavery on the plantation was a patriarchy. One of the reasons why is because the men decided the fate of the next generation of slaves. Slavery is patriarchy because the slave owners decided the fate of the slave women’s children. They would have slaves marry each other and claim the children as property. Also I think that just because the women had the children doesn’t make it a matriarchy. When the child was born it would be considered property of the slave master. Sexual objectification equals dehumanization and subjects act and objects get acted upon. I think that sexual objectification does reflect on dehumanization because it degrades the women’s gender which increases patriarchy. I think that slavery was a patriarchy because the role model for the women of the time was to find a great provider. The white women on the plantation could not vote or to hold a job. All women on plantations were destined to live with property owning men. The men ran most of the slave transporting companies of the time. This is another example of how women could not have any opportunity in the economic world. Plantation owners would own about 200 slaves but farm people would traditionally own somewhere around two to three. Slave women had to do work in the house and on the plantation, which shows male control because women could do more than much more than house work. Finally even though there were laws where slaves could marry one another it was the white male slave owners who made those decisions.
Although I think this subject is kind of a toss up and could go either way, from my point of view life on the plantation was patriarchal.For me the main reason that I believe this because as Dara stated these plantations were run/ controlled by white males. Even white women didn't hold a large position of control in their societies.A great example of this was shown in the movie "12 years a slave " that we saw together. When the white masters wife felt that he was showing one of his slaves to much attention she demanded that she be sent somewhere else. But the master simply told her that the slave was more value to hi m then she was. This showed how she had no control the white male master had the ultimate decision.The reason why I said that this topic could go either way is because many may believe that it was run by woman because of how black women held together the white families house hold and many were also field slaves. In my opinion it was clear that men ran the plantation but it was more dependent on women. Just because it may have been mainly dependent on women does not mean that they ran it. This is why I think life eon the plantation was patriarchal
I really do agree with Dara. She made a lot of good points. Before reading her blog entree I thought that life on the plantation was 100% patriarchal. Her entree made me think a lot more. The plantations were run by white males but "partus sequitur ventrem" is a huge principle that says that the child of a female must follow her condition. If I had to make a final opinion on whether life on the plantation was a patriarchy or not, I would say it is. Only because no matter what men were head of everything and they made the women their slaves, mammies, etc. Males gave the orders and were in charge of everything. But with this blog I still do agree with Dara.
I feel as if life on a plantation was a patriarchy. men dominated women in every which way or matter. Men always tried to take advantage of women. Men used women as maids and sex slaves when on a plantation. Even in the Lizzie Mae Video George Washington used Lizzie Mae as his family's maid. This is why I feel as if life on a plantation was like a patriarchy.
I feel as though plantation life was not fully patriarchy but in some ways. First, the plantation was a patriarchy because men had all the power and owned them.One reason its not is because of the partus sequitur ventrem. This states that if a mother is a slave then so is her child or if the mother is free so is her child.
Because life on the plantation had characteristics that could support both patriarchy and matriarchy, it makes it very difficult to label life on the plantation as strictly patriarchal or matriarchal. I feel as though life on the plantation was for many reasons, a patriarchal plantation. However, there are many key things that highlight the importance and role of women. Life on the plantation could be considered patriarchal because of the sexual abuse used against women on the plantations. Rape was a way for asserting authority and was an act of dehumanization. Rape was mentally and emotionally violent; it was used as a way of showing black men their inferiority. Life on the plantation could be seen as patriarchal because only father’s names were recorded in family Bibles. This makes it seem as though families were the male’s family and belongings.
However, women were significantly important, especially when it came to determining the role children had on the plantation. Life on the plantation followed a doctrine (partus sequitur ventrem) that says that the offspring follows the condition of the mother. For example, if a mother was a slave, so was her child. Women on plantations were very strong and outwardly open with rebelling. They resisted the sexual assault which lessened the impact black men had on women. Evidence supports that women were considered just like men; they were considered the same under the eyes of the law. Both genders worked in the field and the house. In some way, men and women were almost considered equal. This gives us the idea that maybe life on the plantation was not solely patriarchal or matriarchal.
I think life on the plantation was a patriarchy. However, I think women had a very important role in the plantation society. Life on the plantation was a patriarchy because the white masters were in charge. They ran the plantation and were at the top of the hierarchy. Even though they were in charge, the work was done by slaves. Men slaves did a lot of work, but it seemed like the women had more jobs. They were viewed differently by the slave owners and would often be house slaves. They had to care for white children and be "mammies". In the video we watched. "Scarlet and her Mammy", the mammy seems to take on a motherly role and the girl listens to her. Without the house slaves to take care of them, there would be no one else to help raise the children. Another reason I say slave women were important on the plantation is because they provided more slaves. Women slaves were more expensive because they could reproduce. Slave families were matriarchal, so if a mother was a slave her child was too. Also, white masters would rape the female slaves, which was a way to get more slaves for free. In conclusion, I think that even though plantation society was a patriarchy, the slave women had an important role. Without them, a lot of the the labor needed would not have been done, and there wouldn't have been as many slaves.
For me, life on plantation could be either matriarchal or patriarchal but sometimes the decision is contingent on whether you're referring to the black communities on a plantation or the white communities or both. For example, white males made it their duty to ensure that ALL women knew their place. As shown in the clip from "Gone in the Wind" Scarlet was very concerned about her appearance when in front of men and because marriage to a man meant security women worked very hard to look good. But, politically speaking Scarlet was just about to become the boss of her own mammy. That, along with the image of a slave pleading to a white woman by the name of Ms. Jinny ("The Story of a Slave...")1 suggests that white women could hold a certain amount of power. However, black women had much to offer in their own slave communities. Many slave families kept West African traditions and believed in matriarchy and women were constant sources of rebellion. Sometimes they'd shirk their slave duties, other times they'd resist rape, poison masters or simply escape to the north. They could also speak up for their families to slave owners. Female slaves were able to rebel more often because the masters were more fearful of black men and watched them more heavily. The partus sequitur ventrem doctrine also called for children to follow the condition of their mothers. This law implies that women were easier to degrade and keep down in society if their masters watched them enough. A slave woman would always be there to have more children whereas a slave man could not bear children and were harder to control. So, I think black communities within a plantation are matriarchal but overall I can't really decide.
1)
No Author
The Story of a Slave. A Realistic Revelation of a Social Relation of Slave Times--Hitherto Unwritten--From the Pen of One Who Has Felt Both the Lash and the Caress of a Mistress.
[Chicago]: Wesley, Elmore & Benson, 1894.
With having answered this question in my opinion as to whether life on the plantation was a patriarchy, is still tough for me to decide. I think of many societies as being patriarchal, but there are most definite reasons as to how societies can rather be matriarchal. Although, with having gone through the slideshows in class, it brought to my attention that white males owning the slaves had much effect on the slaves (women) but the women also had a lot of power. As Caytlen mentioned, in one of the many photos that we looked through, the story showed that the male was beating the slave (woman), she screamed and yelled at him and eventually he stopped beating her to the point at which the male had never touched hand on her again. Also, the partus sequitur ventrem described how children followed in the footsteps of the mother. Therefore, if the mother became a slave, the child also became a slave. I still feel as though men had the most power, therefore life was somewhat patriarchal on the plantation.
It seems obvious to me that plantation life was indeed a patriarchy. The social pyramid of this society was complex but one thing is clear: White rich men are at the top, and black slave women are at the bottom. I believe slave women were much more objectified than the men, and had much more pain to suffer through. They had to go throgh the usual hardships of being a slave, while dealing with other emotional and physical pain of rape, sometimes losing their children, and having lesser rights than their male counterparts. Many slave women were raped by their masters, to show control and to also create free labor. All children born by female slaves, even with free white fathers, were slaves because of a law called 'partus sequitur ventrem' which is Latin for 'he child follows the condition of the mother'. Even white women were looked down upon, having little to no rights and just seen as sex machines and baby makers.
I strongly agree with Gianna DeSimone's argument. The roles that slave women and free women had were not very empowering to them. Taking care of the master's children? Having to marry for protection? These things sound more beneficial to the males than it would be to the females. Partus sequitur ventrem, though it states that the status of children follows that of their mothers, in no way supports the idea that there was matriarchy on the plantation. This is because that law was made by males to benefit male plantation owners so that getting more slaves is easier and that rape of female slaves can be justified as a means to get more slaves. To put it bluntly, the whole purpose of partus sequitur ventrem was to use female slaves as tools for making more slaves. It had nothing to do with matriarchy. Just because women slaves made the whole process of slavery a lot more convenient, does not mean that there was matriarchy in the plantation. If anything, it was far from it.
Mostly all throughout Western history, society had been (and still is, for that matter) run by male-dominant patriarchy, and this time period is clearly not an exception.
I fully agree with Christian. I feel if life on a plantation was a patriarchy, then men would dominate women in every way they can. As seen in real life men always try and take advantage of women. Women on the plantation were used for sex and as slaves to do all their work. For example in Lizzie Mae Video George Washington used Lizzie Mae as his family's maid. And that is exactly why i believe this plantation is a patriarchy.
I also fell as though that life on the plantation was a Patriarchy. Men was the main figure in the family on the plantation and overpowered women.. I also fell as though women had power as well but not as much power as men I agree with Caytlen with this because the women usually told their husbands how to punish the slaves and how far should they take the punishment. Overraw men controlled life on the plantation and even I today's world men still are looked as more superior than women
I think life on the plantation was a Patriarchy. Men were a main part of the plantation because I think they overpowered women. The men bought the slaves and chose the slaves, the women would get treated worse then the men did. But as Caytlen said sometimes the wife told the husband how to punish the slaves. So I think sometimes the men could have more power and sometimes the women could have more power.
I definitely believe life on plantation was based on patriarchy. White men were at the top of the social pyramid and ruled/controlled everything. Women that were married to the plantation owner were important figures (more so than the slaves, in most cases) but they were still not AS important as the men who were the plantation owners. Raping black women was a way for the white men to show their superiority over them and dehumanize their bodies. This happened very often despite the acts of resistance and rebellion that slave women committed against them. Slave women would resist sexual acts, use sabotage, attempt to run away, defend their families, and cause revolts. Although all this happened, men still ruled the plantation overall because at the end of the day they were slaves and not masters.
Life on the plantation was a patriarchy in my opinion. In the presentation, it showed how how women had many roles however in the end, it was the men who controlled their fate. Women sought protection from men which is why they try marry those with influence. Men were also the ones who ruled over the plantation since they were the ones who controlled money and bought the slaves. Even though the overall plantation was a patriarchy, it can be argued that it was a matriarchy within the slave community. For example, a child that was born would take the social status of the mother. Even so, it was the white male community who created that law.
I think that life on the plantation was a patriarchy. There are many different examples that led me to believe this. First- The structure of how the plantation ran seemed to be controlled by white males. They cracked the whip. It has been said that the women do have alot of say and are able to give orders but men have the final decision. We also talked about how white women were set to a certain standard. They were seen to be beauty and graceful. Men also supply the money. Women pick a man based on how set in stone he is. There might be things that can be argued on the other side of this point but it seems to me like life on the plantation was a patriarchy.
Determining if life on the plantation was a patriarchy or not depends on the section of plantation life you are looking at. In other words, the answer depends on whether we are looking at slave life, the lives of the plantation owner and masters, or the system as a whole. If we are looking at slave life on the plantation, then I believe that plantation life was not a patriarchy, but a matriarchy. Although slave men and women had identical jobs, there were some things that were women only. One of these things is partus sequitur ventrem (which many others mentioned), where a child's status is the same as her mother's, not father's. Also, birth records tend to omit the father's name and keep the mother's. Slave women who were picked to be mammies (caretakers of children) usually influenced the children, such as in diction and speech. In looking at the higher echelon of the plantation system, it is obviously a patriarchy. All or most plantation owners and slave owners were rich white males. They typically held the most power in society at this time, while women had less. In the end, usually a white male would be at the top of the plantation system. Although disgusting and horrid, some slave masters even raped slave women to assert dominance over slave males and to exploit the partus sequitur ventrem law and gain more slaves. Finally, in looking at the whole of the plantation system, I believe it is more on the patriarchal side than the matriarchal side. In the end, males ruled the plantation system at a higher level, while women had power, but on a lower scale.
Life on a plantation was experienced very differently by the free white plantation owners and by the enslaved Africans. To determine if life was patriarchal or matriarchal we have to look at both life styles individually. Looking at it from an enslave Africans point of view I think their life style was a matriarchy. Despite the fact that both men and women slaves had the same jobs on the plantation. It was much more common for the females to protect their families and females had certain jobs that males didn’t have. Women were seen as more important and tend to cost more than men. Birth records also omitted the father's name and kept the mother's. Slave women who were mammies usually influenced the plantation owner’s children. From a plantation owners perspective I think their life style was patriarchal. Plantation owners and slave owners were usually rich white males. The males had most of the say in what happened on the plantation. Since most plantations were owned by white men it also showed they were at the top of the plantation system hierarchy. Some slave masters raped slave women to assert dominance over slave males and to exploit the partus sequitur ventrem law and make more slaves.
I think that plantation life is a patriarchy because during this time the plantation was run by white male and women don't truly play a role in plantation society.The reasons I think this way was in the two movies that we seen ( 12 years of slave , apart of gone with the wind ) the women were treated badly and were used a tools of affection. Also the women attitude ,dress,and eating habits are greatly affected to please white males. Aside from the videos in class we learnt the order in plantation society and in this there was a laws pass that the position of child depends on the position of the mother, due to the constant sexual abuse the women slave were put through .
I think life on the plantation was patriarchy. Men raped women. I believe that men used rape to show that they were in control. White men were usually in charge. Men on the plantation had many key roles. Even though I believe that life on the plantation was patriarchy, I still believe that women played key roles. The women were mammies to the slave owners children. They basically raised their children. In the video "Scarlet and her mammy," we saw how the mammy was in control. I agree with Aline when she said that "...that law was made by males to benefit male plantation owners so that getting more slaves is easier..." We also saw how Scarlet really cared about how the men viewed her. I feel like women act a certain way to impress men and that leads me to believing that life on the plantation was patriarchal.
It is extremely tough for me to choose a side on whether or not life on the plantation was a patriarchy. I agree with Marianne, and Elizabeth. It makes me think that it is a patriarchy because the masters have power over the slave women. There are reported cases of rape, forced marriages, and no boundaries between marriages respected. Also when slaves were being whipped the mistris had no say they could only stand back and watch
I then think that the plantation was a matriarchy. This is because women played huge roles on the plantation. Some had the job as the Mammy. It was basically a nanny or a mother figure for the masters daughter. Another thing on the plantation was the partus sequitur ventrum stating that the child shall follow under the mothers conditions. The master had no say in the child unless he changed the statis of the mother. Women would also try to over throw their master using poison or form a revolt. In this case I wouldn't say life on a plantation was a patriarchy or matriarchy either.
I believe the plantation was a patriarchy. It was dominated by white males, controlling everyone through their power given to them because they happened to be rich, white men. The principle of partus sequitur ventrem is seen in one of two ways. It could have signified a matriarchy because the child followed the social status of the mother, giving her a small amount of power. However, it could also signify a patriarchy. That’s because it gave white men even more powerful. If the status of the child followed that of the mother, a white, slave owning man could save himself money on slaves by raping the ones he already owns and not having to worry about claiming it afterwards. In “Twelve Years A Slave,” we saw that the plantation owner’s wives had almost no control of their husbands actions. When it came to mammies, their job was to care for the master’s children. As Gianna said, why would they want to take care of their master’s children? Elizabeth also made a good point when she said “the slave men had no power to do anything when their wives, daughters, mothers, etc. were being dehumanized.” They were as powerless as everyone else. Because slaves weren’t generally considered to even be human, the male slaves mattered as little as everyone else that wasn’t a white male.
i think that life on the plantation was a matriarchy because the plantation was run by white males and not by both side. the women only was able to have some freedom is when they was rape and married if it wasn't for that they will be treated like dirty. they thought they males was the men of everything , that women was not on there level. then when got the change to be free. listen if my mom is free I'm free okay , if i wasn't born as a slave then clearly I'm not a slave. also , why life on the plantation was not a patriarchy was the fact that black women practically raised plantation owners children. i will say that with out the women u really could not have slavery , because you can't just look mat a men all day can you , that like going to a all boy school and no girls , mmmm…….
I agree with Dara. It is very hard to determine whether life on the plantation was patriarchal. Women practically taught and raised the children on the plantation and without the women no one would have time to teach the children slaves. But, I do realize that the men did have more power on the plantation, they practically ran the plantation. It's just hard to determine because the women play a very important role on the plantation and the plantation cannot function without women, but men have the power. So my question is does power always determine if something is patriarchal or matriarchal?
In my opinion, life on the plantation was a patriarchy. Plantation owners are on the top of the plantation society pyramid, and they were usually men. Men dominated woman in many ways, however, men did not get off to easy either. They were punished just as bad as woman were if they did not obey there orders, however, woman suffered with rape. I agree with Cynthia when she said she believes that men used rape woman to show that they were in control.I believe a woman determined her own future on the plantation. If a woman was attractive, or showed signs of weakness, it became a greater possibility that they would be raped. At the end of the day, men made the ultimate decisions on the plantation, although I do agree that woman played a key role in plantation society. Woman helped drive the plantation, but they did not get credit for it. Some acted as mammies to the masters children, and some were house servants.
I agree with multiple people, in saying that it's hard to determine. It definitely wasn't a matriarchy, but I don't think it was a patriarchy either. Women were important to the society. Especially for slaves because the mother determined whether or not someone would become a slave or free. In principle of partus sequitur ventrem "the child follows the condition of the mother" so this will determine whether or not the child is a slave. Women were not dominated, they were trusted in some sense because they had "mammies" who were basically babysitters and you wouldn't leave your child with someone you don't trust or believe in. These qualities prove that the society probably wasn't a patriarchy.
To be honest, I agree with Caytlen in 10-1.If this question was to be asked to outsiders who have not researched anything about this topic they would all agree that life on the plantation was patriarchy. That's the way it is typically seen as. To be honest I don't 100% agree with that description. An example would be how the mother is a slave the child is a slave, or if the mother is free the child is free.So basically whatever the mother is, the child is. For example there is a white male who was beating the women and she still screamed at him no matter what. She was not letting up, and probably was making the beating worse by talking back. That same white male who was beating the woman never touched her again. She has power. Power of her voice. I don't agree on that the black women raising the children showed the matriarchy. Women were forced to raise the children.They were definitely beneath men. It was against their will at times. My opinion is that life on the plantation is not patriarchy. I mean its like anything else in this world. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't.
I agree with Nicolette Alessi. I think it is Patriarchy. Even though the slaves still obeyed the master's wife, the one who has the most power is still the husband. The male can do whatever he wants. He can rape all of his slaves. If his slaves do not obey, they would get punished. But it can also be Matriarchy sometimes. Because the woman determined the child's future.
Life on the plantation was definately a Patriarchy based on what we have seen so far. The wife of the plantation owner still has power over the slaves, but like in "Twelve Years a Slave", we see that in the end the Plantation owner has the final word. I am refering to the part where The owner's wife wanted the female slave gone, and he still decided she would stay. There are different aspects of life on the plantation could support that it is not a patriarchy. One thing that we see is if the mother is the slave the child is a slave. The mother figure in plantation families in general were very important, but the males on the plantation still have control. All overseers, and the owner himself were always males, they were always seen to have control. SO in conclusion women on the plantation definitly had importance, but over all the men were still dominant.
If you asked this question to people didn't research about this topic they would probably agree that life on the plantation was described as patriarchy. I don't 100% agree with that statement. An example is in the story where the white male was beating the women and she still screamed at him no matter what. After that the male never touched the slave again. That shows she did have some power. I don't think that the black women raising the children showed matriarchy, they were forced just like Caytlen said which I agree with a lot. Overall my opinion is that life on the plantation was not all the way patriarchy I think the women had some say and they showed that when the times came.
I think the plantation was patriarchy the majority of the time but not all of the time. I agreed with marcus when he said it is both at times, because it was. White men were in control, and that is the main part. But women had some say in taking control and shaping society too by raising the children.
I would think life on the plantation is based on Patriarchy. The main concern is that white males own the plantation, therefore owning whatever property there is. Mammies do not have any power over white families, they just have he responsibility to take care of the children. Even the kinship/families the enslaved people experienced are run by patriarchy. the males still run the family and most males equally work in the fields as women do. It appears to be self evident that plantations are based on men.
Like many others who spoke before me, I agree that plantation society was occasionally patriarchal but occasionally less so. I agree a lot with some of the things Dara mentioned like how she mentioned that plantations were run predominately by white males but that partus sequitur ventrem meant that "the child follows the condition of the mother," meaning that if mom is a slave, the kid is a slave as well. I also agree with Marcus when he said that father's names were in bibles as members and heads and families, which gave them a large say in comparison to women. I also agree with Eric that it was a Totalitarian society because of the fact that plantation society was not run by all men equally, but mostly by rich white men that, at that point, had total control over America. So, to conclude, I think that plantation society had its moment of patriarchy but also had its moments of matriarchy. I also feel that, because not all men equally dominated, I feel like society was Totalitarian because of the rich white man's control and power in America. I still feel that, because there is no definite answer as to whether plantation life was a patriarchy, that this question remains difficult to answer and remains as something that many people will have trouble answering.
Personally, I believe that the plantation was a patriarchal and a matriarchal society. The main thing that makes me believe plantation society was both patriarchal and matriarchal is first, the principle of partus sequiter ventrem which is in a sense matriarchal. This gave alot of power to women because if they were free the children they birthed thereafter would also be free.
There are two reasons as to why the plantation society is patriarchal. Number one is how rape was used as as a crutch for slave owners to degrade their male and female slaves. The second reason is that in the plantation society structure at the top would be the white male plantation owners.
The plantation was not a patriarchy. Slave women had more power over slave men because of a masters sexual desire. Masters would seduce the women and ultimately get what they wanted in terms of money and sex. Slave men were strong but they weren't used in any way that would make the master like them more. Mistresses had hardly any power, therefore warming up to the mistress would be useless because of how much power men had in the past.
The plantation could be seen as a patriarchy. The women who weren't slaves that lived on the plantation were treated like garbage too. The men would hold their purchased slaves in higher regard than their own wives. Slave masters also took advantage of their slave women and raped them. Its not just a patriarchy because men and women slaves were basically equal. The master was usually ahead of everyone. However, if a slave man happened to procreate with a non-slave woman, that child would be free. In some sense women had power, but not much.
I think that life on the plantation was a patriarchy. I think it was a Totalitarian society because it was not really run by all men equally but was instead dominated by rich white male southerners that had total control of power in America at the time. men dominated women in every which way or matter. Men always tried to take advantage of women. Life on the plantation followed a doctrine (partus sequitur ventrem) that says that the offspring follows the condition of the mother. I wouldn't say that it is ran by women, but behind-the-scenes, slavery certainly could not have been possible without women.
I believe that the plantation was neither just Patriarchal or Matriarchal. It was run by all white men, and yes, they did most of the hard work and were in charge of disciplining the slaves and such, but that doesn't mean the women of the plantation didn't have a part in that. I feel like women would be in control in the house; like the machine, the brains while the men are the brawns. And I don't mean that in a rude or discriminating way, I just mean that the men did most of the physical work, it seems, while the women were like the inside workers, the ones who made sure everything was going well on the inside. I feel like it must've worked like that, or something like that, because the two sexes need each other's strengths and weaknesses to move together. And I understand that mean might have been a bit more powerful and controlling and all of that, but I still see some things that only women could do in that time.
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