Introduction

 Many scholars who have analyzed W.E.B Du Bois’s work always points out his fight for African American civil rights. Many know him as a “Race Man” because of his question with who am I, double consciousness, the veil, and other ideologies that advocate his activism for racial equality. Race man as he was referred to, expresses a person who has made it their life's passion to study the treatment of black people in America (Simmonds, 2014).  Du Bois being an activist was a race man, but he was also a gender, sexuality, and class man. He believed not just inequality across racial lines but also across gender lines. This is crucially important to reference whenever discussing a figure of this multitude. As a society, we have a reasonability to learn the whole passion of those who lead before us. Du Bois's leadership did not just teach us that African Americans are deprived and belittled in society; it taught us how women are downgraded in society. So many scholars failed to clarify his gender explanation, however such an clarification will provide an understanding to the socially constructed roles that has placed women below men in society.

           Du Bois speaks out against gender oppression urging to put an end to racism, sexism, and war in America. In a era where black people were treated like second class humans, Du Bois stood fast in his equality philosophy. He believed in equality for women especially those of color who have been placed at the bottom of the latter. The class structure in America has always been white men at the top, white women, black men, and at the bottom black women left to pick up the broken pieces that others have placed behind. Although women in general suffer many losses at the expense of men, women of color were purposely placed with the decision to choose between civil rights and the feminist movement. Susan Gillman author of, “ Next to the Color Line: Gender, Sexuality, and W.E.B Du Bois, wrote about the concept of the problem of the 20th century "being" the problem of the gender line. Like the color line that divides and criticizes citizens purely because of their skin color, the gender line divides based on sex. It was developed to keep a hierarchy between men and women. This division leads to unfair and unequal treatment towards one group of people (women) and good treatment towards men. For example, white women did not get the right to vote until 1920, and color women after 1965, praise to the voting rights act. These are decades after white men were exercising their unearned voting privileges. Women not being able to vote left them powerless from politics and laws affecting them; laws regarding adoption, birth control, etc. men controlled for many years. It was as if women do not exist as human beings.

Literature and the Author's Position

              David Humm author of, “How Women are Seen in Social Standards” talked about how a woman is always judged by the initial review before one sees her potential or leadership skills. Women are seen as weak and unqualified especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics ( STEM ) fields and are always reminded that they are women and therefore cannot do what men can do. The author explained how women identities were formed for them and this reminded me of Du Bois concept of who am I. When one's identity is already formed, it is hard to move outside of that box of labels that has already been placed upon them in the social atmosphere. Humm wrote, “ A black woman have to remember that she is not only black but also a women and this comes with more labelings. While a white woman is often seen as just a woman because being white, is the norm in society” ( Humm, 56). This quote expresses the view that there are no explanations of one's innocence when it comes to being white in America: in contrast, the minority races are constantly on trial for their complexion. Du Bois stated, “ They [Black women] existed not for themselves, but for men” (Du Bois, 1995). In this quote, Du Bois is explaining how women are the seeds that lift up men, they are self-sacrificing which means that they know how to give their all. He paints a portrait of women as strong, long-suffering, and deserving of equality because if it was not for women ( mothers), men would not exist, no one would. The shocking truth of how a person can be treated as a second-hand citizen because their skin is dark is just as disappointed as women being discriminated against because they have a vagina.

Reiland Rabaka author of, “ W.E.B. Du Bois and The Damnation of Women” wrote about Du Bois passion for including black women power into the leadership of African Americans. At a time when black male writers concentrated their efforts on the social, economic, and educational advancement of black men as the leaders of the race, Du Bois is something of an anomaly in his recognition that black women, were equal partners in the struggle to claim the human dignity that all black people were seeking. He said the race fight is not one just for black men but for all people of color in America. Black men wanted to create a hierarchy similar to white men statue. But Du Bois says both black men and women are oppressed. That black men and women are both oppressed by a racial system that seeks to uplift the white race only. Rabaka wrote, “He understood women, in general, to have great potentials as agents of social transformation because of their simultaneous experiences with capitalist and sexist oppression” (Rabaka, 21). Sadly, we are still living in a sexist society, men are still paid more than women for doing the same job, and women are still told they are not qualified for positions not because of their resume or experiences, but their gender.

How does sexism afford to exist?

                 The division between gender rooted in sexism reserves economic opportunities to those who society deems as citizens, in other words, white males. This allows for men to grow and be seen as the dominant figures of society, while women play secondary roles. Roles that before the 20th century consists of, “ Staying home, taking care of children, cooking and cleaning for the male.” (Smith, 320). Smith’s book titled, “Women's role in the 20th century and Lacey Sloin’s, “Women’s oppression or choice” both outlined the difficulties of being a woman in America. The authors argued that there is a gender line and its existence makes it difficult for women to live within American society. For instance, women are twice as likely to be questioned about their leading abilities or credentials in comparison to men. Women are always seen to be the nurtures and when a woman does take on a role that society calls, “Manly” they are seen to be abandoning their children and trying to be masculine. This stigma ignores the single fathers or feminine males in society that do not fit into the “manly” categories. Du Bois during reconstruction refers to this as the tendency to provide freedom but expecting women to continue to work mediocre jobs while keeping them indentured to the wills of society ( Du Bois Reader, 1935). Society wants to keep women second because it is all about power in this country.

             W.E.B. Du Bois was a prominent supporter of the women’s suffrage movement and used the magazine he edited, “ The NAACP’s The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races” to advance the movement for women’s voting rights. In the magazines, Du Bois published essays based on the experiences of women’s suffrage advocates, both black and white. He highlighted fierce debates in the black communities over support for suffrage, as well as controversies over race within the women’s suffrage movement. The woman suffrage movement actually began in 1848, when a woman’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. For the next 50 years, woman suffrage supporters worked to educate the public about the validity of women suffrage ( Browman, 2013). It continues today because women are still suffering from unfair wages for doing the same work as their male counterparts, they are still twice as likely to suffer from sexual and domestic violence, and being a stay at home mother is still not considered a full-time job. These restrictions allow sexism to continue to exist in society.

Black Women vs. Women

                 Black and minority women have experienced gender bias at a far higher rate than white women have over the years. For example, white women are far more likely to get the proper medicare they need than black women who are twice as likely to die from lack of health treatments ( Brownman, 2013). Black women are isolated from the feminist movement because white women are said to be the leaders and label black causes as a civil rights movement when in fact, black women are women too. This explains that the problem of the gender line is not just between men and women but amongst different races of women. During the feminist movement, black women were excluded because they had too much, “Oppression” and white women feared that blacks would take over the movement. White women advocated for equal job opportunities but black and minority women were advocating to have jobs in general. Jobs that they were not racially and gender discriminated at.

           Not only was a black woman judged because she is black, but because she is a woman and that meant double the trouble. The development of the Women's Club Movement was created to bridge the gap between the races. Instead of black women feeling like they must choose between civil rights and feminist rights, the women’s club provided a safe haven for both gender and racial equality. Here black women felt comfortable expressing their concerns without having to choose which to fight for.  Du Bois's theory in the Souls of Black Female Folk focused on how this gender divide causes black women to really question their identity in American society.   Their souls are lost from years of oppressive systems with both gender and race and the movement helped them build confidence.

          A black woman’s self-confidence is always shattered because of the false representations of who they are. Black women are seen as less educated, ignorant, and loud, they are expected to have many kids, live off government assistance, and not work. All of which are false, I have yet to meet another set of hard-working and independent group of people.  The images presented of White women, on the other hand, are of trophy wives; they are seen as the ideal and perfect image of what a woman should be (Warren, 2004). The fault with this system is that it was created by men who dominated society and want to keep the two races divided. Men who purposely organized this hierarchy amongst women to start a conflict. Such conflict even spreads today because Victoria's Secret models are all skinny and white women. Society and the media have created this atmosphere where only white women are seen as studious and beautiful ( Warren, 2004). Black women are beautiful and talented but are not portrayed that way by mass media. Oprah Winfrey, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, etc. are just a few names of beautiful and talented black women in our history.

             Du Bois’s philosophy moves to the strengths and weaknesses or limitations of being a black mother. About 70 percent of black mothers are single parents compared to 30 percent of white mothers and 16 percent of black men who are single fathers ( Census, 2011). Black mothers although having the highest single-parent rate still remain super strong, self-sacrificing, and long-suffering. I grew up with a single mother of four and understood the power of education and saw how my mother's not having an education caused her to push us, kids, to stay in school and pursue a degree.

              Du Bois does not limit black women to a biological function or, sex role but he sees them as the backbones of society. He said, “ Black women have always had to be strong for the men in their lives, whether father, brother, son, husband, lover or traditional black church pastor” ( Du Bois, 1940). They are the glue that holds people together and the family. A black single mother is also both the father and mother to their child. According to Michelle Winwords, author of,  Black Women and the Wage Gap, there is a persistent gender-based wage gap that not only continues to harm women, their families, and the economy but is severely damaging to black mothers. Black mothers in the United States who work full time, year-round are typically paid 63 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men and 70 cents for every dollar Black men make (Census, 2011). At the same time, they still must care for their kids and hold up the family.

Who am I, Long-suffering of Women

              James Brown once said, “It's a man's world,” this must famous saying is the perfect expression to describe how men receive a golden ticket in society, while a woman must stand in line. For example, when women wear male attire they are seen as powerful and accepted in society, but when a man dresses up in women's clothes, he is looked down upon. He is seen as a weak and dishonoring person for trying to be a woman.  This is because society has claimed it acceptable for a woman to want to be a man because males are in control, versus a man wanting to be a woman who is powerless. A male news reporter could wear the same suit all week on TV and not get dragged on social media for being unprofessional, but a woman must always worry about what she wears and how people will react to the lesser gender. There is always this idea that a man should never want to be the, “Lesser gender” but being a woman is not the lesser gender, for there is no lesser of the two because God created Adam and Eve not Adam created Eve. If all men are created equal then all gender identities and gender expressions should be equal as well. Being a woman is not just being different but the treatment is also different in society. Ina Berninger's article,  "Women's Income and Childbearing in Context” explains her position on the economic setbacks of being a woman. The median wages for black women in the United States are $36,227 per year, compared to a median wage difference of $21,698 each year.

            These lost wages mean that black women have less money to support themselves and their families, save and invest for the future, and spend on goods and services ( Macaulay, 2012). They are live paycheck to paycheck and their families, businesses and the economy suffer as a result, worst of all black race remains in poverty. The author also talked about the annual wage of white women which is $57,925 (Macaulay 2012). This amount is still less than what white men make and a lot more than what black women make. It reminds me of Dubois's philosophy on how white people even when affected by this unequal system, still are better off because being poor and white is still better than being poor and black.  Hedayatzadeh, Seid Hesam-Aldin H, author of, "Are Women a Blessing or a Curse?” talked about the different countries where women are still powerless and not given a choice. The author states, “In 18 countries, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working; in 39 countries, daughters and sons do not have equal inheritance rights; and 49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence” (Hedayatzadeh, 2013).

            I found it shocking to find that 49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence when domestic violence is a known and active issue that needs to be outlawed. One in five women and girls, including 19 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49, have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within the last 12 months. Yet still, 49 countries around the world have no laws that specifically protect women from such violence ( Harnois, 85). This is almost the number of states in the U.S.A; this shows that the gender line is not just a fight in America but it is a global fight around the world to make women be judged based on credentials and not their sex. Black women, in particular, suffer from a double, double consciousness: while white women may receive a golden ticket because they are white, black women are left out for one, their skin color and two, their gender.

          Freida Pinto said, “ Gender equality is a human fight, not female fight.” This quote helped me to understand why Du Bois an activist for civil rights also advocated for women's rights as well. He believed in unity and equality for all God's people and in the end, justice will prevail. Gender equality is a human fight because one does not have to be a woman to want equal treatment for them. Equality sounds nice in theory, but women also need equity. Du Bois mentioned this when he talked about his childhood saying he remembered being too white for his peers but also too black for white people and he did not understand where he fits in as an African American. The same confusing battle with women especially those of color, whose fight with who am I, is never-ending. Today, am I a woman or a black woman, and what is the difference?  The question seems so easy to answer yet rather complicated because societal standards and acceptance of a black woman, is different than just being a woman. But even then, being a white woman, the standards are also lowered because one is not a white man. Being a woman has become much more than the biological and physicality of the gender, but also the placement of expectations in comparison to men in the 20th century.

Analysis

 

            The graph above shows the unequal division wage among women and men in America.  At the entry-level, are mostly women coordinators, managers, and supervisors but, at the executive level, there are very few women. This gap is even larger among women of color, this wage is also uneven because women at the bottom of the corporate ladder earn 2.2 percent less than men at the bottom: and as one can see, it nearly triples at the executive level. As women move up the ladder they are paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same work. For example, the graph shows that female executives are paid 6.1 percent less than men executives ( Women’s Income, 2014). As women become more involved in leadership positions it is often as if they have to beg for their fair income, while man especially white, dominate the stage even with no qualifications. This contributes to the gender line divide because, in most countries, it is hard to see female business owners but will find several female workers and managers. In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act ("EPA" or the "Act") as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, to prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers ( Roeder, 2009). But even with this act, women today are still paid 80 plus cents to every dollar a man made in America and even less worldwide.

              However, the wage gap between white women and women of color is even wider. Black and Hispanic women are paid less than their white counterparts. Nationally, black women working full-time, year-round positions make 63 cents to each dollar earned by a white man. This gap is much wider than the 79 cents white women earn for every dollar made by a man and the 87 cents earned by a black woman (Women’s Income, 2014).  There is also a connection with color and gender and it remains the problem of the 20th century. Just as the saying, it is better to be poor and white than poor and black because black males in spite of being paid less due to their skin color, are still better off than women of color. Such a philosophy is from the socially constructed ideology that men are somehow supernatural figures that can perform roles that women are simply unqualified for. These socially constructed roles of gender, sexuality, and race should slowly erode.  Dr. King once said, “Judge a person on the content of their character not the color of their skin” (King, 1960). This quote forces people to think about what one can bring to the table in terms of skills or experiences, instead of whether they are a man or a woman.

Du Bois’s concept of Women Equality

                 W.E.B. Du Bois's contributions to Black Studies in higher education are well documented.  Black women's issues and liberation are found in Black and Women's Studies departments because of his activism. His writings on the women’s suffrage movement and the ways in which it was interlocking with the struggle for African American civil rights, were philosophically interesting. He felt that African Americans would not see their civil rights granted without the same happening for women. He wrote, “ What is today, the message of these black women to America and to the world” ( Du Bois, 1940). This showed his uplift for women as next to the problem of the color line and the peace movement in the 20th century. Two of these movements; the women’s and color combined have deep meanings. Du Bois was very critical of the racism in the movement for women’s suffrage and black feminists became critical of the same in the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote, “ One thing alone I charge you, as you live, believe in Life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader and fuller life.  The only possible death is to lose belief in this truth simply because the Great End comes slowly, because time is long” ( Du Bois, 1965)

Ain’t I a woman? - Sojourner Truth

                 In order to understand the system, one must know the roots. Lacey Sloan author of, Women’s Oppression or Choice talked about womanism as a result of a division in the treatment of women of color and white women that has a long-rooted history.  She wrote, “ Womanism, is a form of feminism that emphasizes women’s natural contribution to society”. There are different subcultures: black feminist, they portrayed African-American women as self-defined, self-reliant individuals confronting race, gender, and class oppression. Two, Afrocentric feminist, they speak to the importance of diminishing oppression. Afrocentric feminist, believe that knowledge plays in empowering oppressed people so that they may fight the unjust system. Black women's experiences and the Afrocentric feminist thought rearticulating them also challenge prevailing definitions of a community ( Sloan, 2011). Black women's actions in the struggle or group survival suggest a vision of a community that stands in opposition to that extent in the dominant culture. In contrast, Afrocentric models of community stress connections, caring, and personal accountability.

                As cultural workers, African-American women have rejected the generalized ideology of domination advanced by the dominant group in order to conserve Afrocentric conceptualizations of community. They have been denied access to the podium, black women have been unable to spend time theorizing about alternative conceptualizations of community. Instead, through daily actions, African-American women have created alternative communities that empower them. Their feminism has also been questioned because white women lived the stay at home, trophy wife lifestyle while blacks worked in the fields with men. One of the most unique and interesting speeches of this discrimination was by Sojourner Truth. In 1851, at one of these meetings in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her, "Ain't I a Woman?" speech. It was a wonderful speech where she compared the oppressed life of a black woman to the picture-perfect life of white women. She said, “Ain’t I a woman”? To me she was sarcastically questioning if black women are not women too because of the horrific treatments of blacks, they were forced to work like men and get beat like men, when in fact, they are women. Such a treatment considers them less of a woman and even less of a human being.

Conclusion

                   Women and gender studies contribute greatly to our understanding of the social and cultural world we inhabit. However, the societal construction of roles that place women below men, is why the gender line remains a problem of the 20th century. Problems around inequality regarding the treatment of women in comparison to men, still exist today and for women of color who suffer from a "double-double consciousness". Their race alongside their gender has placed them at the bottom of the ladder.  Women's rights are conversations that continue to be buried and ignored by the majority. A gender line exists, it was created by the white-dominated gender (Men) to not only keep races divided but a set of hierarchy when it comes to gender. It is all about who has the power. The male gender is socially seen as the tough and praiseworthy one while females are seen to be inferior especially black females. The whole idea of masculinity and femininity in American society has created a class structure just off the labels for women and men as if the physicalities of being a man is something different than being a woman. Masculinity for example, does not only mean men; it means white, strong, rich men. Currently, there are women movements across the country and I hope for the future's sake, that we manage to bridge this gap between gender.

              Many changes are needed to fix this theory and the increasing amounts of awareness on the topic of women’s suffrage as second-class citizens help to increase legal changes. Du Bois believed in a world where black and white men can have a drink at the bar but also one in which, men and women have equal rights as well. Through various mediums, we have learned of topics such as the “Glass ceiling”, the working conditions of women in Third World countries, the current injustices against women being carried out in the First World, and other limitations imposed on women ( Slacy, 2011). More awareness to the gender line brings more knowledge and with more knowledge, we have more power for change. Such a concept that Du Bois believed in has just as much weight as his many works on racial equality. Yet still, his work on gender is not recognized globally, even though gender and race interlock on a global level as well. This is because many people fail to acknowledge that this “line” was created by mankind: those who want to see a particular group flourish often at the expense of others diminishing.  As a society, we have made several steps forward to minimize the gap across gender and this leaves me hopeful for the future.

           As women of all racial backgrounds, we must come together and form an actual women’s movement. In the past, black women’s equality and gender equality were two different things because black women were left out of the movement. Their cause was seen as unimportant as if it did not fit women’s oppression. White women controlled the movement making it about fighting for higher pay, and jobs while black women were fighting for human rights--the right not to be overworked and abused by men. They had to form their own movement that advocated equality across their racial and gender lines because the feminist movement was excluding their oppressions. This 'double-double consciousness' helped bridge the divide between white women and black/ minority women. However, when women of all races band together only then true change will occur: we must stop fighting each other and realize that the fight is not amongst ourselves but a system that was created to keep us divided and blow men. Growing up as a black woman, I always heard people say that we are at the bottom of the latter, but we are not their alone; Muslin, Asian, Hispanic, and even white women are at the bottom with us because being women is considered second, just below men. This double, double consciousness affects all women, but as a society, we must see gender equality as not just a women’s issue but a human issue that affects us all. The different behavior, aspirations, and needs of women and men should be considered, valued, and favored equally. Not just for what is fair but to create a world that the future generation does not have to spend a lifetime to fix.

           The gender line does not mean that women and men have to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities, and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Their abilities, level of respect, and income would not be compromised because of their sex. That women of all racial color will have the same opportunity as white women and white men: to be judged based on their content and not by first impressions. Such a world may just seem like a theory, but every movement starts off as such. Du Bois along with many of his believes started off with a theory and ended with philosophical messages that we all can look back on and change the world with. He believed in gender equality along with racial equality. Many have talked about the color, sexuality, and religious line: in the midst of these, lies the gender line our most challenging problem in the 20th century.   This is our most pressing problem of today, that with motivation and drive, will not be a problem for future generations.

 Terece Thomas is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University.  She co-authored this paper with Dr. Felton O. Best, Spring 2019.  

 

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