Scenes of Subjection

Rape against enslaved women was not recognized as such and not punishable by law. To be recognized as a legal subject under slavery provided no protection for enslaved people. In her discussion of sexual assault and rape, Hartman insists that men were sexually violated as well and maybe as often as women, though we will probably never know the scope of this violation. The sexual violation of women on which slavery depended and the castration of men used to both discipline and punish are violations that do not “count” as rape, and Hartman questions how we can think about rape outside racist and heteronormative frameworks.

She sets out to examine what she calls the “discourse of seduction” in slavery (140). Within this discourse, since the enslaved person is unable to legally resist (which would be criminal) or consent (which is fundamentally impossible as an enslaved person, since one’s life is already taken and commodified), the question of “seduction” must be considered.

State of Missouri vs. Celia, a Slave is a legal case that was not reported or published, and it was not found until 145 years after its verdict. This is typical of cases involving sexual assault against enslaved people, Hartman notes.