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Introduction to “Untold: True Experiences of Women of Color”

Women of color have faced a unique set of discriminatory obstacles, all of which share two characteristics: race and gender. The lives of women of color are intrinsically different from those of white women because they are exploited, oppressed, and objectified purely on the basis of race. The exhibit, “Untold: The True Experience of Women of Color”, features several art pieces representing the distinctive struggles women of color have had to deal across lines of poverty, fertility, and objectification throughout history and modern-day society. Women of color have been demonized and taken advantage of for being poor. Adding to that, their perceived economic status, as well as racial identity, has led to the control or suppression of their fertility, whether or not they agree with the approaches taken. Women of color have also been objectified from being perceived as a sex object to facing preconceived notions of the hyper sexualization of their bodies constituting their exploitation. Relating to each art piece, featured below are the three sections of our exhibit with in-depth explanations of the ways in which women of color have experienced poverty, fertility, and objectification. 

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Poverty: Marriage Dependency and Exploitation

This section of the exhibit explores how women of color, specifically Latina women, have attempted to gain financial security and avoid poverty by marrying a richer man, but have been exploited in the process owing to their lack of education, naivety, and submissiveness. It is almost financially impossible to raise three children as a single parent in Mexico (Tzintzun 18). Therefore, Latina women commonly seek a partner that can financially support themselves due to their prolonged economic stature in hopes that they are creating a better life for their children and future generations. However, in the process of trying to obtain a better future for their children, mothers of color sacrifice and endure the exploitation and manipulation from their wealthier husbands. For example, Latina women in these unfortunate circumstances stay with their husbands for a long period of time in order for their children to have an education (Tzintzun 25). Within the exhibit, this concept is demonstrated with a painting by Diego Rivera titled “Vendedora de Flores” featuring a woman and her children who are selling flowers to make ends meet because they are impoverished. The children are shown without shoes, demonstrating their poverty and inability to purchase basic everyday apparel. This image can show how poverty affects Latina women, and how a mother seeks financial stability to avoid this life for her children, even if it means marrying a man who exploits her. 

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Poverty: Domestic Slaves

Featured in this section of the exhibit are the consequences of sexism and racism during times of slavery are a big reason as to why there are greater poverty rates seen among women of color. The positions that black women were afforded during the period of slavery, such as that of the house slave, have had an effect on the jobs that they are able to obtain in modern day society. The treatment of working Black women in the United States, specifically in the field of domestic work, demonstrates the different forms that discrimination can take. For instance, a form of discrimination Black working women face is being treated as if they were animals or "mules uh de world" (Collins 71). Employers can treat their employees like toddlers or as less capable human beings by using deference practices like calling Black domestic workers "girls" (Collins 71). Representing this concept in the exhibit is the piece by Kat Flyn titled “Myth of the Welfare Queen”. The sculpture depicts the usage of items for menial work, such as whisk brooms, dustpans, a portable ironing board, and a cooking apron, which emphasizes that menial jobs that African American women are able to obtain because of the color of their skin. They were seen as a devoted and diligent domestic servants created to legitimize the economic exploitation of house slaves and to explain the long-standing limitation of Black women to domestic work (Collins 72). 

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Fertility: Out of Their Control

In this section of our exhibit, we feature women of color that have been historically prohibited the right to control and have a say over their reproductive system. Many women have been denied the right to choose when to have a child, whether or not to carry their pregnancy to full term, the right to have their pregnancy terminated, and have been subjected to unethical sterilization by medical personnel, and many other injustices. During the 1800s, many enslaved women were forced to have children at the convenience of slave owners. These women would self-abort their pregnancies or kill their children out of desperation because they did not want their children to be subjected to the slave system (Davis 355). Self-abortion or taking their child's life to protect their children from being born into slavery were the only options black slave women had when it came to their bodies and children. During the early 1970s when abortion was legalized, poor women of color did not have access to quality-care regarding their reproductive system and were subjected to sterilization instead (Davis 354). The government did little to establish policies or organizations to ensure that poor women of color have access to quality health-care. Medical practitioners violated women's trust and sense of security by sterilizing them without their consent or ensuring that they fully comprehended what the procedure entailed. In the beginning years of gynecology, the field was dominated by male physicians who did not actively listen to their patients' concerns and often did what they thought was best instead, which in most circumstances was sterilization (Ross and Solinger 17). This concept is represented in the exhibit with two pieces by Jules Arthur titled  “A Bond of Sisterhood” and “Sisterly Resilience. Both paintings portray the social reproductive injustices women of color have endured in the past and present. The first painting represents how enslaved women had no rights or control over their reproductive health, while the second painting highlights people who have advocated for better reproductive rights in the past and present.

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Objectification: The Hypersexual Black Female

This section of the exhibit speaks on the Western perception of black people as less human and more animalistic gives rise to the notion that they "breed like animals" and have a more "primitive" sexual appetite creating the idea of the hypersexual black female (Collins 71). Furthermore, the female body parts that are frequently sexualized, such as the breasts, buttocks, and hips, are typically larger or enhanced on the black female figure in comparison to white females. There is a popular misconception that having a curvier figure correlates with having an increased sexual appetite, which only further constitutes the idea of the hypersexual black woman. In this manor, black women are boiled down to nothing other than a hypersexual object to gaze at for her voluptuous figure, rather than a real person. By casting black women in this light of hypersexuality, it creates the idea of black female sexual deviancy, or the hypersexual racialized “other” in society (Collins 83). However, being labeled as “other” in society means that they are different from the standardized norm, allowing for the possibility of control and suppression of this deviancy. The process of casting black women as this hypersexual "other" lays the groundwork for the objectification, oppression, and exploitation of their bodies that they have experienced throughout history. This concept is demonstrated in the exhibit featuring a sculpture of a well-known African woman, Sarah Baartman. In the early 1800’s, Baartman was paraded around Europe scant of clothing by two Europeans, William Dunlop and Hendrik Cesars. They put Baartman on public display in various paid exhibits to showcase her body as a sexualized “oddity”, presenting the rarity of the black female body and its sexuality, with her “enhanced” buttocks on display (Williams 34). The two men exploited Baartman and by turning her into an “objectified” other that was commodified for their own financial profit.

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Discrimination based Objectification: Latin Women in Entertainment Industries

This section of the exhibit demonstrates how the concept of “beauty” is often idealized and objectified in regards to Latin women.  While race in Latin America appears to be more flexible than in the United States, this does not indicate that racism is absent from Latin culture (Baez 42). Latin America is home to a diverse population of Latinos of various skin tones. Afro-Latinos are Latinos with darker skin complexions who live in countries such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, to mention a few. However, there seems to be an idealized preference for the way that Latina women are supposed to look. For instance, in Spanish-language media, particularly television news programs and telenovelas, Latin women are mostly fair-skinned, with light eyes and straight hair (Baez 45). The majority of the Latin women agree that the media’s portrayal of Latinas is Eurocentric and does not reflect the racial diversity of the Latina/o community. The preference for a Latin woman with a more Eurocentric appearance can also be seen in the U.S. entertainment industry. For instance, the ideal appearance for casting a Latina in the U.S. motion picture industry would fit the stereotype of the “Latin Look'', which creates the image of an olive skinned, long black haired, dark eyed, hourglass figured, Latina women (Baez 45-46). By casting Latin women with lighter skin tones and a curvier body type, the industry is still promoting the preference of those with more Eurocentric features (Baez 45). The U.S. entertainment industries way of stereotyping Latin women aids in creation of the image of the highly sexualized and objectified Latina woman. The concept of the sexually idealized Latin woman can be seen in the exhibit with a piece from Mark Spain titled “Heat of the Moment”. His artwork is an illustration of how the media portrays Latina women: as an objectified sex symbol.

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“Myth of the Welfare Queen” by Kat Flyn

The sculpture created by Kat Flyn titled “Myth of the Welfare Queen” depicts what life was like for African American women in poverty. The inclusion of menial labor tools like whisk brooms, dustpans, a portable ironing board, and a cooking apron highlights how African American women were only able to secure menial jobs because of their skin color and perceived intelligence level. African American women were cast as domestic maids and house slaves under slavery. This photograph represents the way in which white households used African American women in their houses. They would view these women as second-class citizens because of their skin color, poverty, and lack of education, which is why they were relegated to such menial jobs. Employing Black women in “mammified” roles reinforces. White employers' racial supremacy, while enabling particularly middle-class White women to identify more closely with their fathers, husbands, and sons' racial and class dominance. 

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“Vendedora de Flores” by Diego Rivera

This painting is known as the “Vendedora de Flores” and was painted by the well-known Diego Rivera in 1949. Diego Rivera’s intended meaning behind the painting is to portray the vendors as poor and “bowing” down to the rich in order for them to buy flowers from them. This is an example of the impoverished lifestyle that Latina women are normally born into. The life of poverty affects not only the mother, but her family as well. The children of impoverished Latin families commonly have to leave behind the possibility of becoming educated, or enjoying their childhood, in order to help provide financially for their families. Poverty can be intergenerational, which is why poor Latina mothers seek the opportunity to end the cycle of their children being born into an impoverished environment by marrying wealthy. 

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“A Bond of Sisterhood” by Jules Arthur

This painting called “A Bond of Sisterhood” was created by Jules Arthur. Her art piece depicts the racial and systemic reproductive injustice black women have faced for many years and is currently still present in today’s world. The white man in the painting represents how enslaved women had no control or say over their bodies. The white man is making the decisions regarding her body, her fertility, and her baby. There are no medical or sanitation utensils present in Arthur's painting. Midwives are the two women who are assisting and attending to the women laying in the bed. So, midwives attended and assisted enslaved mothers in giving birth to their children. Slave owners rarely provided adequate and essential medical equipment to aid in the delivery of a baby. The majority of slave owners were unconcerned about the pregnant women. Their main concern was the mothers' infants, which they planned to sell for a profit. White slave-owners' deprived enslaved women of their power and ability to exercise their reproductive rights. During the early 1800s, enslaved women had many rights stripped away including their rights to reproduce, access to quality health-care and to parent. Enslaved women were denied control over their reproductive health. 

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“Sisterly Resilience” by Jules Arthur

Jules Arthur is the artist who painted “Sisterly Resilience”. Arthur includes past and present activists advocating for better reproductive rights and challenging those who hinder the path to newer and better reproductive rights for women of color. The painting appears to show women from the 1800s who were enslaved women removing a statue of one of America's founding fathers. The present individuals illustrate a diverse range of men and women involved in the protest. For several decades, women of color have had their right to decide when they wanted to bear a child and the choice of whether to keep or terminate their pregnancy was taken away from them. During the 1800s, enslaved women were deprived of the right to choose when they conceive, with whom they conceive, and the choice to continue with the pregnancy to full term. Many enslaved women self terminated their pregnancies because they did not want to bear a child into a world of harsh and brutal living conditions. Even after slavery was abolished many women of color were still deprived of their reproductive rights. Laws and policies did not support and accommodate the reproductive needs of women of color in fact they further continued the reproductive injustice among women of color. The laws and policies permitted unethical sterilization of women of color.

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Sculpture of “Sarah Baartmann” by Willie Bester

The sculpture by Willie Bester depicts Sarah Baartman, an African woman who was featured in paid exhibits across Europe by William Dunlop and Hendrik Cesars in the early 1800s in scant clothing to display her enhanced sexualized parts, particularly her buttocks. By doing so, they turned Baartmann into an exploited, objectified, and hypersexualized “other” through the commodification of her body. The rawness of the shape and color of the materials used to reconstruct her figure represents the way her humanity was disregarded by displaying her exposed sexualized physical attributes to the public in a raw manner. The way the sculpture of Baartman is looking off into the distance with an unhappy look on her face symbolizes the shame and embarrassment she felt while being exposed to the public in a degrading fashion. The perspective that society had of Sarah Baartman helped aid in the creation of the perception of the black female as an hypersexual “primitive” being that had an affect on future generations.  The Europeans interpreted Sarah Baartman's figure as an external manifestation of the concept that black people are more "primitive" and have a larger sexual appetite. Her body was used to establish the concept of the racialized hypersexual "other," implying that the black female body and sexuality were inherently different from those of European, or white, females. 

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“Heat of the Moment” by Mark Spain 

It is no wonder that women of color have historically had more difficult time fitting in. Many individuals do not give women of color the same chances or opportunities that they provide white women. Women of color are stereotyped in a variety of ways, including being perceived as impoverished and hypersexual, as well as a sex symbol to mention a few. In the piece featured above by Mark Spain, he uses the stereotypical appearance of a Latin woman and transforms it into a sex symbol. As seen by the muse's full figure that fills up the red dress, her long flowing brown hair that is slightly hiding her face, and seductive pose with her hand on her hip, Latin women are usually perceived as being flirtatious, voluptuous, and more sexual than white women. The way in which the muse’s red dress flows down into a burning fire represents the stereotype of the fierce Latina. While the idealization of Latin women's bodies in Spain's image can be perceived as flattering, it can also be used to objectify and negatively stereotype women of color, such as being portrayed as hypersexual. 

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Works Cited

Arthur, Jules. A Bond of Sisterhood. 2019. Resilient Sisterhood Project. https://rsphealth.org/reproductive-justice.

Arthur, Jules. Sisterly Resilience. 2019. Resilient Sisterhood Project. https://rsphealth.org/reproductive-justice.

Báez Jillian M. “Navigating and Negotiating Latina Beauty.” In Search of  Belonging: Latinas, Media, and Citizenship, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL, 2018, pp. 39–62.

Bester, Willie. Sarah Baartman. 2016. Vernac News. https://vernacnewsblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/uct. 

Collins, Patricia Hill. “Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images.” Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, Routledge, New York, NY, 2009, pp. 69–96.

Davis, Angela Yvonne. “Racism, Birth Control, and Reproductive Rights.” Women, Race & Class, Womens Press, 1986, pp. 353–367.

Flyn, Kat. Myth of the Welfare Queen. 2017. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/kat-flyn.

Hernandez, Daisy, and Bushra Rehman. Colonize This! Seal Press, 2002.

Rivera, Diego. Vendedora de flores. 1949. Museo Nacional Centre De Arte Reina Sofia. https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork.

Ross, Loretta J., and Rickie Solinger. “A Reproductive Justice History.” Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, University of California Press, Oakland, 2017, pp. 9–57.

Spain, Mark. Heat of the Moment. n.d. Castle Fine Art. https://www.castlefineart.com/art/mark-spain/a-moment.