Southern Chivalry

I thought that Barnett's argument against southern "chivalry" was interesting because it exposes both the historical contradictions behind the term, and the fact that women really had nothing to fear from black men in the south. In deconstructing the southern definition of chivalry, Barnett is able to effectively show the absurdity of lynching in the south. Her argument begins with an examination of Bishop Haygood's explanation of lynching, in which he says "Southern people now and always have been most sensitive concerning the honor of their women" (680). Barnett responds to this argument by saying that those who practice real chivalry should respect the rights of all women regardless of color. Using the "million mulattoes in the South" as proof that white southerners have continuously raped black women, she shows that it is in fact white men who are guilty of rape and do not respect the honor of women. This is a strong argument because it take the logic that white southerners used to justify their racist attacks on blacks, and then turns it around to show that they are in fact the perpetrators of the crime. This seems to show that during reconstruction, white southerners were primarily afraid of losing power. Under the slavery system, white men were able to rape black slaves without fear of reprisal, or punishment. As reconstruction progressed, and black's were given more rights, white men saw that interracial relationships represented a direct threat to their power over both black and white women. By diverting the attention away from their own past crimes against black women, and then creating a fear of black rapist men, white men were able to maintain dominance over southern society. I think that Barnett effectively exposes the injustice behind this logic, and proves that it is actually southern white men who do not respect the honor of women.