Implicit resistance in labour

One imagines a possible extension of the realm of resistance through the work of Angela Davis as she reflects upon the role of Black women in the slave community. It was the indulgent of women in household chores, their exposure to domestic violence as well as the mere act of survival under patriarchal terms which served as a profound political statement of resilience. Just as we learn to broaden our understanding of the role played by Black women, it is paramount to bring into question the extensive labor and the implications that accompanies this form of silent protest. 

Slavery as an institution dehumanized people of color to extreme extents. We need to understand how labor was incorporated in efforts to sustain slavery and ensure profit maximization. For women, this labor ranged from endless hours in the fields to domestic labor during the evenings and the barbaric sexual labor at the will of the slave master. It is here that we are to draw a distinction between the division of labor that occurred on the basis of gender to better comprehend the significance of women’s labor. 

Just as the labor for men ended at sun set, women on the other hand found themselves involved in household chores back in the slave cottages. Therefore, domestic labor became another task that was forced upon the women within their own homes, by their own communities by virtue of their existence in the social order of patriarchy. It is these extended hours of work continuing into the night that sets apart the primary task entrusted upon enslaved men and women. Moreover, as means to maximize profits of the institution, the bodies of slave women became reproduction sites as means to increase the labor force with new offspring. With this brutal extraction of sexual labor, women lost the remaining ownership of their own bodies to the slave masters. So, one might ask again how the labor was different for men and women. It was different in the number of hours each worked; It was different in the very nature of work demanded from women off the fields; and more importantly it was different in the very nature that some labor like that of reproducing an offspring was extracted.  

But more than being different how is this labor important as a form of resistance? With the labor being more exploitative for women one other responsibility was naturally bestowed upon them: the survival of the community. It was this role that the women played just as they indulged in household chores in efforts to propagate some form of normalcy in the slave cottages. Her role as the caretaker was much applied to domain outside the boundaries of the house as well.  

“this will be an indication of the magnitude of her role as a caretaker of a household of resistance — often degree to which she could concretely encourage those around her to keep their eyes on freedom” (Davis, 7) 

Therefore, if one were to view these efforts in the large scheme of things they served as the ground basis to showcase any form of explicit resistance in the future. Even though women continuously faced extreme injustice under their “unique oppression as a female” they were capable to derive some sort of autonomy for the slave community through this act. The slave cottages existed as the only safe space for the slave community where the oppressor did not directly intervene in their lives and women played a crucial role to uphold this arrangement.  

It is not to say that women were never at the forefront of resistance or did not actively take part in it. Many revolts were headed by women and other forms of rebellious acts included the poisoning of slave masters. However, at the very core of all these activities was the domestic labor that is distinct in its role played by the women. Apart from other contributions women’s efforts were also an embodiment of these day to day, implicit resistance, that allowed these spaces to evolve as a site of socialization overtime. Though on the face of it was domestic labor, unfair and gender bias, it allowed the occurrence of plantation dances and songs as an outlet of various emotions. It was these suppressed emotions together with the slave’s community’s colossal efforts that transformed these spaces to sites of resistance time and time again.