My Message To Black Authors

Obsession With Opression

Trigger Warning‼️: Mentions of r*pe, sexual abuse, enslavement

I would like to talk about a disturbing, unfortunate sector of literature that I've stumbled across on Wattpad.

The Romanticization of Slavery.

Yes, you're reading that right, and yes these books do truly exist. There are books where the enslaved falls in love with their master and vice versa. That is disturbing enough by itself.

These works of literature are almost always written by black women. The black women whose ancestors had to suffer the tragedy of slavery in this country, and the same black women that may have been subjected to rape, torture, sexual abuse and breeding had they been enslaved themselves.

My issue with these stories, beyond how blatantly disrespectful and disgusting they are, is that they feature the terrible qualities in black literature that I mentioned before; Mental, physical, and emotional abuse, as well as extreme white-washing and tokenism. The white men in these stories often start as vile, racist individuals that abuse the enslaved woman while simultaneously signaling to her that she's somehow different than the other slaves, and the enslaved woman is always somehow a light-skinned West African with 3A curls that hang down her back, with light hazel eyes. This is purposefully done by authors to perpetuate what they perceive as a difference in beauty and worth between an enslaved person with common west African features, and one that has taken on characteristics of their oppressor.

This is disgusting, because not only does it affirm to black readers that somehow, if you fit into certain parameters, your enslaver would love and care for you as a human being, it also impresses black readers to believe that the salvation and redemption of racists rest on their shoulders. It leads the audience to believe that if they aren't appealing enough to the white man to be deemed attractive and worthy of not being mistreated, that's their fault, and they should have been born differently. 

Secondly, there is nothing remotely romantic or entertaining about the prospect of an enslaved person and an enslaver falling in love. That does not even exist. Please pay special attention to how I am using the word enslaved versus referring to individuals as slaves. When we refer to individuals as enslaved, it reinforces the idea that black people were captured and held against their will. It reinforces the idea that white men were not automatically entitled to black bodies, and that slavery is something that was done unto people and not something that defines the black existence, therefore it shouldn't be normalized or praised in any way. Our ancestors were enslaved, and because of that our history and the trajectory of our people have been enslaved as well.

Someone who holds you against your will and subjects you to a system built off of human suffering does not love you, and will never love you. If they loved you, they would not subject you or anyone that looks like you to torture and evil. If an enslaved person ever did "fall in love" with their enslaver, it was a case of Stockholm syndrome or was born out of a place of fear and manipulation, and a desire to survive in any way possible. Any sexual relations that took place were instances of rape, and that's why so often sexual relations between authoritative figures and their underlings are forbidden, because how can you truly consent to someone that you're not even entitled to say no to?

To the authors that write these books, what part of it even appeals to you? Is it the whipping, lynchings, and rape? Or perhaps its the breeding, separation of families, and being considered 3/5 human? I can't seem to find one reason that would make me want to read a love story about enslavement.

How dare you turn our ancestors' suffering and rape into a mockery so that you can sit back and fulfill your sick fantasies? The audacity to write a whole book about a slave master before you'll even write a sentence about a black man.

The only amnesty I'll offer is that your ignorance is most likely a direct result of brainwashing done unto the black community for 400 years now and for that, you can't be blamed. Even then, it's time to wake up, and take responsibility for the bullshit you put in this world. I refuse to let anymore black little girls fall victim to the bullshit I fell victim to.

I'm sensitive about this one as you can see.