Summary
The thesis of this article is that violence has no face, race, or gender. The times of slavery left a large number of people disfigured and offended, including men. Strong social stigma about the shame of male sexual passivity and general weakness did not allow for deep and responsible work on this topic (Foster, 2011). As people speak of the terrible events of the past that have harmed millions of black women, we must also remember the strong resistance of black men.
The Writer’s Argumentation
All reasoning is an analysis of the particular events presented in historical sources. The author takes the subject of discussion globally, considering not only slavery in America but also the Spanish slave system in Cuba and other cases in Latin America. The article begins with a historical passage depicting the mistreatment of a black woman Elizabeth Amwood (Foster, 2011). This case is more complicated as it also concerns the bullying of a black man. Further, based on this knowledge, the author begins to develop the topic of genderless violence through quotes and arguments from other specialists. He mentioned a lack of data due to the stigmatization of violence against men (Foster, 2011). He also cited many facts concerning the terrible events that happened to them, which were not expected to discuss for a long time.
The Primary and Secondary Sources
The author included a large number of primary sources such as slave-early American newspapers and historical law documentation. A bigger part is accounted for by secondary resources, namely, articles and other scientific works of specialists. The writer also mentioned a conference organized by the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the University of California (Foster, 2011). The sources are based on various issues integrated into the author’s article, but there are no references with a critically distinct opinion. The publication of all secondary sources covers an extensive period.
The Value of the Article
This article is of great value as it opens one’s eyes to many terrible things that have happened in the past. The work carries the basic idea that violence has no gender and that every person deserves the maximum protection on an equal base. This topic should not be a stigma for discussion or a grey zone. Otherwise, there may be misconceptions about the place of men in past and present society. The article helped me look at these things more broadly and comprehensively.
Work Cited
Foster, Thomas A. “The Sexual Abuse of Black Men under American Slavery.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, vol. 20 no. 3, 2011, p. 445-464. Project MUSE.