BLOG 1: Lynching as Citizenship and the Protection of White Womanhood

I was quite fascinated how women participated in lynching mobs in order to gain a sense of political power and citizenship. Feimster’s Southern Horrors illustrates how although women were viewed as unfeminine when partaking in political matters, they nonetheless stood up to defend themselves as well as empowering their sense of citizenship. “Certainly, in general, the call for white women to participate in their own protection had opened up a space in which the radical and sexual politics of the New South could be used to legitimize and support a new and politically powerful female (Feimster, 140).” As the ideology of lynching provided a passive depiction of women, this transition of participating and stating the violence that happened to them hoped to restructure how women were viewed as being independent protecting themselves. As women were told not to deal with the law, as it was perceived to devalue their sense of womanhood and involved “too much work” for them to do, further protecting white womanhood, this involvement was a giant stride in reclaiming an image of power, both socially and politically. By being physically present and engaging in voicing their opinion of the suspect’s sanctions, women’s presence was a bold move of leaving the domestic scene and entering the public realm of the violent punishments.

 Although women felt like they were establishing independence and promoting a means of self-defense by claiming, “They now feel as if they could walk to loneliest country road at midnight without being molested by a black or white man (Feimster, 149),” today this fear still exists. National myths of white southern womanhood and the black male rapist are not just instances from history’s past, but are still instilled in individuals today. I am curious as to how national myths still hold precedence in how our society understands ways of behaving and acting towards others.

These national myths contribute to the conversation of who should be protected and from whom. By analyzing the Gale Trotter’s speech and a list of rape myths in class, it is evident that white women should be protected from black males. Gale Trotter, a current gun advocate, plays up outdated gender stereotypes hoping for fewer restrictions, showing how she would feel much safer with a gun. This political performance proves how she can suggest white women need protection over others. The ideological myths are present when power relations arise knowing that the same speech could not be given if either a male of either race, or a black woman were to speak. Rape myths including: rape is caused by lower-class, non-white males on predominantly white women, mainly occur at night on the streets, and by strangers, are commonly believed. These myths are only a few out of many that highlight how historical pasts embed themselves in present-day America.

I believe these national myths are significant in how we have constructed our world-views throughout time. Until we can be able to have national discussions that do not continually refer back to these long, upheld myths, we can progress into new ways of understanding social relations and can take appropriate action into understanding rape on a case-by-case basis.