What is meant by the saying 'black women are the mules of the world'?

Answer 1

The original text of ideology comes from Zora Neale Hurston's novel, 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' where she writes:

"Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it's some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don't know nothin' but what we see. So de white man throw down de load and tell de n_____ man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don't tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De n______ woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. Ah been prayin' fur it tuh be different wid you. "(Hurston, 14)

Additional Input:

• This is about a specific type of subjugation that Black women have always endured because sexism of Black men can often be as horrendous as racism under white people. Whatever society dumps on Black men, Black women ultimately bare the brunt for, take the blame for, or are otherwise ostracized because of. Black men's power comes from being MEN first. But if Black men are walking around claiming themselves to be endangered species, criminals, morons, sexually depraved, and spiritually ungrounded, the burden of these issues is the fault, always, of Black women who as their mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, daughters, etc. did not do their jobs well enough as feminine vessels of wisdom and decorum, to keep them from such a fate. Should Black women try to tell Black men not to do something, or attempt to help him over his burdens, she then becomes "overbearing", "angry", and "emasculating". If Black women do as they have been doing for generations, and focus on their own education, their own livelihood, and their own goals, moving away from the needs of Black men, she is then "selfish", "insensitive", and even believed to be a "race traitor". This is platform created within Black literature that mimics Black reality and has nothing to do with white women or how white men treat them. It is specific to race and specific to how gender formation and gender roles are determined and actualized within the Black race.

• Women, in general have been considered the "mules of the world" for quite some time. They have been given the burdens that no one else would carry, with the expectation of carrying them, and they have done so. They have been expected to work, clean, birth children, raise children, sew, and keep the household and gardens in good working order, to name a few. They have suffered depravity, personal strife, and abuse, while still managing to carry out these duties. Through all of the hardship of being a woman through the ages, they have been dependable, steadfast, bulwarks of strength. In spite of, or maybe because of, these hurdles, they have managed to retain an inherent spirituality/creativity. In the past, this manifested itself in singing, gardening, mothering, storytelling and sewing. Today, this creativity is apparent in many and varied forms including all those items previously mentioned, plus writing, acting, modeling, Photography, etc. Are women today still considered to be the "mules of the world?" As long as our society remains patriarchal, women will continue to carry the burdens of men.
• My answer: That's just plain stupid and racist :( People back then didnt have hearts D: