WMST 2121H Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Endangerment, Civil Death, Episiotomy
10 Jul 2019
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Document Summary
Throughout history, ideas about women"s bodies have been used to reinforce and, occasionally, to challenge women"s social position. The code of hammurabi-the earliest recorded legal system in the western world-defines women"s bodies as men"s property and defines rape as a property crime. Code, convicted rapists must pay fines for "damaged goods" to the raped woman"s husband or father (if she is unmarried). The greek philosopher aristotle contends that embryos become female only if they have insufficient "heat" to become fully human. Thus all females are "misbegotten men" and "monstrosities. " Other greek scholars extend these ideas, declaring that lack of heat makes women smaller, frailer, less intelligent, emotionally weak, morally suspect, and, as a result, a danger to men. Like the greeks who precede them, early christian philosophers conclude that women"s presumed moral weaknesses endanger any men who come under their spell. Both the law and scientists regard african-american women (and men) as less-than-human property.
