Revising Jezebel Politics: Toward a New Black Sexual Ethic
Revising Jezebel Politics: Toward a New Black Sexual Ethic
“Jezebel” as trope, representation, and narrative has been zealously deployed against women of the African Diaspora since the advent of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. However, Jezebel’s image has also been constructed and reconstructed within dominant Biblical narratives over centuries — often signifying sexual immorality and political treachery. This essay takes up the dual task of destabilizing both the oppressive representations of women of the African Diaspora according to Jezebel stereotypes and dismantling the dominant Judeo-Christian treatment of Jezebel as an infamous actor. Specifically, this essay uncovers the relationship between Jezebel’s historical and contemporary cartography of sexualized politics and politicized sexuality — including the transformation of desire. It also outlines the nature of Jezebel’s religious pluralism in relation to her sexuality and politics. It also yields a unique mapping of “Jezebel’s” radical deployment of sexuality, politics, and spirituality and an account of innovative social ethics made possible through the integration of sexual, political, and spiritual resources.
Keywords: black church, Black sexual ethic, Jezebel, marginalization, quare, queer, racist stereotypes, religious pluralism, sexist stereotypes, stigmatization
Liverpool Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
