Here's a kick ass essay I wrote in response to Harriet Jacobs's slave narrative

Subverting Submission: Sexual Agency as a Means to Survival

In her Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs subverts the cult of womanhood’s ideals on female sexuality by displaying agency over her own sexuality. In her slave narrative, Jacobs gains a sense of self-affirmation through selecting her own sexual partner, uses her sexual agency as a launch pad from which she seeks broader agency in her life, and weaponizes her sexuality as a “triumph over her tyrant,” Dr. Flint (234).  Jacobs further subverts traditional views on female sexuality as she challenges the founding ideals of her audience’s sexual politics. In asserting that she, a slave woman, has not enjoyed the same luxuries as her readers, she declares sexual innocence a privilege reserved for the free, and demands that she not be governed by the same standards (233, 234). While the cult of womanhood views female sexuality as a mere reaction to husbands’ desires, Jacobs subverts the ideal that women must be reduced to a submissive role. In taking control of who she sleeps with, and what she will gain from the relationship, Jacobs’s sexual agency offers a much different take on the traditional tale of female sexuality.

As a slave woman, Jacobs has little to no agency in life. What she eats, if she eats, where she sleeps, and other things that determine a person’s quality of life, are out of her hands. Her sexuality is no different.  To her horror, Jacobs finds that she does not possess the autonomy to disobey her master, Dr. Flint, even when he starts making sexual advances towards her. “I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master” (Jacobs 231). In response to this, Jacobs subverts the cult of womanhood’s call for virtuous sexuality, and places herself in the driver’s seat. Rather than shamefully being defiled by one of the “fiends who bears the shape of men” (231), Jacobs declares herself an acting agent in her sexuality.  In engaging in consensual sex with her lover, Mr. Sands, Jacobs is able to achieve a sense of self and spiritual liberation through sexual agency. “It seems less degrading to give one’s self, than to submit to compulsion. There is something akin to freedom in having a lover who has no control over you” (234). It is revolutionary for Jacobs to assert a sense of self found through her sexuality – “freedom” -- in a time when women’s only expected desire is to satiate their husbands. With Mr. Sands, Jacobs is her own focus; she will be as affirmed by this encounter as much as he is.

As Jacobs’s intentions with Mr. Sands become further apparent, however, the reader learns her sexuality is a weapon against her master as much as it is an affirmation of herself.  “I knew nothing would enrage Dr. Flint so much as to know that I favored another; and it was something to triumph over my tyrant even in that small way” (234). Here Jacobs places her sexuality into a much different context. Her relationship with Mr. Sands is not merely about self-affirmation, but a rebellion against the man she is forbidden from disobeying. While the cult of womanhood calls for Jacobs to feel a sense of shame – and she does display that in the text – Jacobs decides that her sexuality is hers to use: if she cannot say “no” to Dr. Flint, she will protect herself by saying “yes” to another. The pro-active approach Jacobs takes with her sexuality declares that she is an acting agent; her position is not merely reactionary, as the cult of womanhood demands. Further still, Jacobs reveals her sexuality as a tool in a much larger plan. Truly calculated in her intentions, she aims to use her sexual agency to gain control over her future. “I thought [Dr. Flint] would revenge himself by selling me, and I was sure my friend, Mr. Sands would buy me. He was a man of more generosity than my master, and I thought my freedom could be obtained from him….of a man who was not my master I could ask to have my children well supported, I felt confident I should obtain this boon” (234).  Beyond an assertion of self, beyond a triumph over tyranny, Jacobs’s sexuality was her meal ticket. In realizing she could use her sexuality to escape Dr. Flint, and conversely, hook Mr. Sands, Jacobs uses sexual agency as a launch pad for gaining more control over her life’s path. Seeking freedom for herself and her children, Jacobs has truly subverted the ideals of female sexuality as responsive and submissive – she is in the driver’s seat now.

While Jacobs does much to subvert the accepted views on female sexuality, it may seem counterproductive that she openly displays feelings of shame and guilt over her sexuality (235). Nevertheless, Jacobs remains keenly aware of her audience: to present all of her subversion without remorse could potentially push readers too far. That is not to say, however, that Jacobs does not maintain subversive through her displays of remorse. In her appeals to readers, Jacobs is directly challenging the hypocrisy that founds these traditional ideals. “Pity me, and pardon me, O virtuous reader! You never knew what it is to be a slave, to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel…the slave woman ought not to be judged by the same standards as others” (234). She has already done much to subvert notions on submissive female sexuality, but with this address to readers she asserts that even if these notions were correct, they could not apply to her sexuality. Here Jacobs forces readers to realize the hypocrisy in their ideals. If some women are protected as treasures, while others are sold as chattel, how can all women be expected to adhere to the same values? Jacobs informs her audience that the “purity” that they hold so dear has been “sheltered from childhood” as their “homes are protected by law,” while she “was struggling alone in the powerful grasp of the demon Slavery…” (232). Jacobs incites her readers to take a more critical look at the allowances made for their purity and innocence. With this, she is able to show remorse for her sexuality, while continuing to subvert traditional ideals.

In her slave narrative, Jacobs demonstrates agency over her own sexuality, uses this agency to declare a sense of self, pro-actively defend herself from Dr. Flint, and attempt to gain greater control of her life. In acting as an agent in her own sex life, Jacobs challenges the traditional ideals concerning female sexuality. Within the cult of womanhood, women are expected to be nearly a-sexual. That is, any sexual desires acted on outside of a marriage are condemnable, while within a marriage, all sexual behavior is expected to be in reaction to the husbands’ needs. With this, the sense of liberation Jacobs’s sexuality grants her subverts the popular perception. Moreover, her use of her sexuality as a manipulative tool, to gain things from men, rather than a mere response to their needs, was radical. Further, Jacobs highlights the hypocrisy in shaming slave women for the things they do to survive, while exposing them to the savagery of slavery. In doing so, Jacobs does more to challenge accepted notions of female sexuality, and again casts her sexuality as a weapon.