Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World

The story of freedom revolves around black women's choices to control their bodies, selves, loved ones, and futures. Slavery in the Americas was institutional, carnal, and reproductive, with intimacy tying slaves to slaveowners, women of African descent, and their children to European and African men. Jessica Marie Johnson's book Wicked Flesh explores these complex intimate and kinship ties and how they were used by black women to construct freedom in the Atlantic world. It argues that African women and women of African descent endowed free status with meaning through active, aggressive, and sometimes unsuccessful intimate and kinship practices, which laid the groundwork for the emancipation struggles of the nineteenth century and reshaped the New World.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 08 November 2022
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

The story of freedom is intricately woven with the choices made by black women to assert control over their bodies, selves, loved ones, and futures. This narrative is deeply rooted in the unique oppressions faced by African women and women of African descent. It revolves around the deliberate decisions made by black women to retain autonomy over their physical beings, relationships, and destinies.

Slavery in the Americas emerged as an institutional, carnal, and reproductive system. The intimacy of bondage fueled the desires of slaveowners, traders, and colonial officials, who harbored fantasies of dominance that permeated every social interaction. From husband and wife to sovereign and subject, master and laborer, intimacy bound slaves to slaveowners, women of African descent, and their children to European and African men.

In her book, Wicked Flesh, Jessica Marie Johnson delves into the intricate nature of these complex intimate and kinship ties and how black women employed them to forge freedom in the Atlantic world. Johnson relies on archival documents scattered across institutions across three continents, written in various languages and primarily from the perspectives of colonial officials and slave-owning men. Through meticulous research, she reconstructs the experiences of black women, spanning from coastal Senegal to French Saint-Domingue, Spanish Cuba, and the swampy outposts of the Gulf Coast.

New Orleans serves as the focal point for this investigation, as Wicked Flesh argues that African women and women of African descent endowed freedom with meaning through active, aggressive, and sometimes unsuccessful intimate and kinship practices. Their stories, both in their successes and failures, contribute to a rich tapestry of resilience and determination.

The choices made by black women to assert control over their bodies, selves, and futures are a testament to their unwavering spirit and determination. They refused to be subjugated and fought for their rights and dignity, shaping the course of history and leaving an indelible mark on the world. The story of freedom is incomplete without acknowledging the profound impact of black women's choices, and their legacy continues to inspire and empower generations to come.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781512823707