Write a comment with your reactions to Blackstone/Ritchie/Shapiro. What surprised you? Interested you? What would you like to talk about in class?
Women and Law Summer 2019
Women and the Law, Summer 2019, Hunter College
Write a comment with your reactions to Blackstone/Ritchie/Shapiro. What surprised you? Interested you? What would you like to talk about in class?
Ritchie’s chapter titled “Setting the Historical Stage” explores the history of the persecution of people based on neglecting to conform to “traditional” gender roles. The chapter begins with explaining the homophobia of colonists towards Native Americans, whose societies were more accepting of queerness. This contributed to the justification of the genocide of Native Americans. Similarly, perceived “over-sexuality” contributed to the justification of the African slave trade. The impacts of sodomy laws are discussed, which systematically oppressed queer individuals. Historically, international hegemons placed severe sanctions on acts that did not conform to traditional-heterosexuality. Racism played a role in the sentencing process, with wealthy White men less likely to be prosecuted. Queer women were prosecuted less often given the law was centered around men. Finally, historical reform is discussed, with the overturning of obscene punishments for queer acts.
Ritchie provides an in depth discussion of queer persecution. One aspect that surprised me was the role that homofobia played historically on the justification of human rights abuses. The reading suggests that colonizers reached deep conclusions regarding the personal lives of the people they were oppressing. These types of conclusions typically take significant observation time. However, conquest requires urgency. These conclusions must have been reached based on preconceived notions. I am interested in how governments were able to investigate in the personal lives of their citizens. With homosexuality punishable by death in certain instances, how much evidence was needed to prove guilt? Lacking modern day forensic technology, personal accounts must have played a significant role in these investigations. Unfortunately, this is not a reliable form of evidence. Finally, I would like to discuss the wording of these “sodomy laws.” The reading refers to the description of these laws being “male-centric.” What is male-centric about homosexuality? Given that gender roles expected women to be married to and serve a man, why did governments not include a “female-centric” law when drafting these laws?
The Ritchie reading “Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer (In)Justice was about the legacies of laws during the colonial period that were used to police sexuality and gender norms, specifically of Indigenous people, people of color, and poor people in America. Ritchie discusses that punishment for sexual deviance was a necessary part of colonization and slavery. In addition, a majority of the policing during the colonial era was heavily influenced by the Christian clergy. Therefore, it makes sense that in a time where the Church had a large influence on the state, people who bypassed traditional gender and sexual norms were punished severely. There has been a long history of African Americans being hyper-sexualized in America, where black women are over sexualized and black men are often portrayed as rapists. Ritchie goes on to discuss that the punishments for men who were found sodomizing included being burned, hung, or even castrated. Further, she even argues that in the colonial era, sodomy was a crime on par with murder. However, most unfairly, these laws were not applied to all people equally, with rich, white men not receiving the same punishment as a black man who was convicted of sodomy. Ultimately, Ritchie argues that the laws around sodomy were used to “enforce existing race, class, and gender power structures” (pg. 9).
I think this reading brought up a lot of really great points. It is no surprise to me that people who do not fit into traditional forms of gender and sexuality and other identities have been punished in this country for centuries. However, the part that stuck out to me the most was the part about how punishments were not the same depending on who was receiving it. It was awful to learn that a well respected and wealthy white man in the community would sometimes only be reprimanded for his behavior, whereas a black man would be executed without a second thought. It is very interesting to see the long lasting impacts of these laws on today’s society. The criminal justice system today does not treat everyone the same and it is very telling that this practice of discriminating against someone in court based on their race or sexuality is still a major issue today. I also found the part of the reading where Ritchie discussed that the policing of gender and sexual norms as a tool for colonization and slavery to be very interesting. I think this is a unique angle to take that I have not learned about before, and one that is often left out of the dominant narrative about colonization and slavery so it was interesting to read her arguments. Ultimately, this was a very insightful reading about the lasting impacts of these laws on the criminal justice system in America today.
The Ritchie reading “Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer (In)Justice was about the legacies of laws during the colonial period that were used to police sexuality and gender norms, specifically of Indigenous people, people of color, and poor people in America. Ritchie discusses that punishment for sexual deviance was a necessary part of colonization and slavery. In addition, a majority of the policing during the colonial era was heavily influenced by the Christian clergy. Therefore, it makes sense that in a time where the Church had a large influence on the state, people who bypassed traditional gender and sexual norms were punished severely. There has been a long history of African Americans being hyper-sexualized in America, where black women are over sexualized and black men are often portrayed as rapists. Ritchie goes on to discuss that the punishments for men who were found sodomizing included being burned, hung, or even castrated. Further, she even argues that in the colonial era, sodomy was a crime on par with murder. However, most unfairly, these laws were not applied to all people equally, with rich, white men not receiving the same punishment as a black man who was convicted of sodomy. Ultimately, Ritchie argues that the laws around sodomy were used to “enforce existing race, class, and gender power structures” (pg. 9).
I think this reading brought up a lot of really great points. It is no surprise to me that people who do not fit into traditional forms of gender and sexuality and other identities have been punished in this country for centuries. However, the part that stuck out to me the most was the part about how punishments were not the same depending on who was receiving it. It was awful to learn that a well respected and wealthy white man in the community would sometimes only be reprimanded for his behavior, whereas a black man would be executed without a second thought. It is very interesting to see the long lasting impacts of these laws on today’s society. The criminal justice system today does not treat everyone the same and it is very telling that this practice of discriminating against someone in court based on their race or sexuality is still a major issue today. I also found the part of the reading where Ritchie discussed that the policing of gender and sexual norms as a tool for colonization and slavery to be very interesting. I think this is a unique angle to take that I have not learned about before, and one that is often left out of the dominant narrative about colonization and slavery so it was interesting to read her arguments. Ultimately, this was a very insightful reading about the lasting impacts of these laws on the criminal justice system in America today.
The reading Setting The Historical Stage: Colonial Legacies depicts the policing of sexual and gender “deviance.” It was an integral part of colonization, enslavement, and genocide. It discusses sodomy and how it was often used for demonizing and eliminating those who had what the coloners desired, in this case, it was the Europeans. Colonization also required the suppression of gender fluidity in order to promote not only the establishment of the hierarchical relations between the two genders but between the colonizers and colonized. Much of the early policing of nonconforming genders and sexualities were done by religious authorities such as the Christian clergy. If men were seen wearing female attire they were brutally punished. The reading also touches on the supposed hypersexuality among Africans and that indications of deviant sexuality could be found by enlarged penises and malformed female genitalia. People did not believe that lesbians existed amongst white, middle-class women because they did not have these features. Immigrants, especially Asian immigrants, were also apparently seen as a threat to the nation and were spied on and excluded from the US, as justification for their apparent “unnatural’ sexual practices and injurious morality. Race was a huge factor in the punishment met with sodomy. Whites were not punished as severely as blacks who were often sentenced to death.
Before the colonizers came to these parts gender fluidity was seen as almost natural. The indigenous people laid with others of the same sex but it was once colonizers came that all that changed. I believe that this was an excuse for the colonizers were not used to such things where they were from. They claimed that sexual deviance was a crime against nature. I believe that they were uncomfortable with the way that the indigenous people lived. I do not think it was necessary for them to obtain the resources they needed by punishing these acts. People do not like change and I believe that it was fear that led them to sentence nonconforming genders and sexualities to death. Fear of God, fear of what they believed their entire lives to be wrong. One’s sexuality is not a reason to prohibit entry to a country or spy. There is no justification in that. As for the enlarged genitalia among some African Americans, the reason for it was all conjecture. They wanted to subjugate blacks which was why whites were not punished as severely. This reading was interesting but also alarming because of the lengths people had gone to justify their actions and punish those who were simply attracted to the opposite sex.
One aspect of this response that I would like to challenge is that the colonizers were not used to non-conforming identities. In Europe there were individuals who did not conform to traditional gender roles of sexuality. The thing these colonizers were not used to was the acceptance of the roles that the Native’s used in there societies. Similar acts were frowned upon and persecuted by Europeans. To see these actions go unpunished was what was shocking to the Europeans. Additionally, the colonizers needed to justify their actions to themselves. Anything that the Native’s practiced that was not viewed as “traditional” would be a justification for genocide.
Response: “Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer in Justice, Andrea Ritchie
“Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer in Justice discuss the criminalization of same sex relations in the America during Colonial times. The author focuses on the unjust treatment that queer people often faced at that time, especially people of color. At the same time, author also states that European colonizer used sodomy as very convenient pretext for demonizing and dominating indigenous people in order to take their land and expanding their own power at the very beginning of colonial time. Even though each of the colonies had their own independent legal code, in all of them sodomy was considered a capital crime. The author also discusses in “Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer in Justice, that interracial sexual relations were often treated even worse than sodomy by society.
Today, it is difficult to imagine, that homosexuality in Colonial America were punished at the same level as murder and adultery. I think, “Setting the Colonial Stage” in Queer in Justice tells us not only about oppression on the basis of race and sexuality, but also about how it was used by colonists to their own advantage. Even though society has gone a long way towards the acceptance of same sex and interracial marriages, it is still very sad to read about all of the violent historical events and punishments that the author tell us about in her book.
For my writing I chose Ritchie Queer injustice. The writing focuses on the persecution of homosexuals through history. It starts off explaining how natives to the America’s were found by Europeans to be sexual deviants. With conquistadors finding men dressed as women and having relations with other men they decided to feed them to the dogs. This was the first persecution of Homosexuality in the New World. For Europeans the natives of America were seen as homosexual deviants also the Africans were seen not as homosexual deviants as much as overly heterosexual deviants. The Europeans believed that the reason for Africans over sexual nature was exaggerated genitalia, with men having large phalices and women having larger clitoris than average. The Europeans believed this was the reason that African women could be engaged in lesbianism. In fact a doctor refused to testify that two white woman could be engaged in lesbianism for lack of them having enlarged genitalia. Europeans have had a history of punishing those who commit Sodomy, the first evidence of punishment began with the Israelites in 400 bce where god says a man who lay with another man as he would a woman should be killed. Similar punishments could be seen in the Roman Empire where homosexuality was also punishable by death. In the Iberian peninsula homosexuality was punishable by castration and stoning. We can see that through much of Europe religious interest made homosexuality against the social norm and in fact a punishable offence similar to that of murder.
Shifting over to the New World we can see how punishments for sodomy/homosexuality deeply depended on your social status, gender and race. We can see that those individuals who were of wealth and white continuously were allowed to go free for their actions, where those who were black were killed for sodomy. In Massachusetts Bay Colony we see white well to do men get off for their actions for nearly 30 years after the first accusation comes to light. One of the wealthy white man accused was found to have relations with an indentured servant when held accountable for his crimes he only had to reduce the servants time in his service for one year and give him some form of compensation. His sodomy continued for 30 years before he was punished more severely for his crime. We see that not only did sodomy matter but it mattered who committed the sodomy, if it was a slave or someone who was poor and not white most likely they would be killed and if they were rich and white they generally got away with it.
This is a reading that talks about the prototypes of the courts. The ideal prototype that students of courts employed include four things. The first thing is dependent judge applying a decision must be made where one of the parties were assigned the legal right while the other was found wrong. There must be pre-existing legal norms, and lastly adversing proceeding to be able to achieve. The political jurisprudence was able to grow by being characterized by the discovery of prototype in court behavior. One of the conflict structured in triads is the root concept that is inlaid enplaned. Triads involves a paradox, instability, or dialectic. We are introduced to go-betweens. These go-betweens are in many different forms in societies. It could be any person, they do not have to be connected to the house hold.
This is a reading that I do agree with. There is prototype of the courts. The jurisprudence was able to grow because it was characterized. The pre-existing legal norms are also needed within the courts. This helps out the cases that are taking place. I also agree that the go-betweens do not need to be connected to the the house holds.
After reading “Setting the Historical Stage” it became more clear that criminalizing and dehumanizing specific groups has always been part of the fabric of this nation. The historical accounts provided are proof that those who seem like a threat to the status quo are always targeted. I agree with the author’s claim that “policing sexual deviance is often in a manner designed to reinforce hierarchies based on race, gender, and class.” It wasn’t shocking to read that once laws were put in place they did not protect Black women.