Intersectionality and the Perpetuation of White Male Power through Interracial Sexual Violence

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation research is to investigate the reactions and attitudes of white men, white women, black men, and black women to the sexual violence of enslaved black women carried out by white men. Using an intersectional approach, these reactions and attitudes elucidate the way intersecting institutions of oppression interact and reinforce one another. Whereas most intersectional analysis emphasizes the location and experience of black women, or other oppressed groups, the current study focuses predominantly on the role of dominant groups. Examining the reactions and attitudes of various groups reflects the set of incentives, tactics, and consequences particular to each intersectional location which bolster institutions of oppression broadly by reducing resistance from subordinated groups. Using original sources including diaries, autobiographies, Works Progress Administration slave narratives, court cases and petitions from slavery allows for an analysis of this historical form of exploitation and oppression and the racialized gendered norms that were commonly used to perpetuate power and privilege of the dominant group.