Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery

In this book review, I reflect on a selection from Jennifer L. Morgan’s (2004) book, Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery. I have returned to this selection several times to process its applicability, not only to the time in which it was written about, but to my existence as a Black woman in the world today. Throughout modern history, Black women’s lives have been marked by contradiction and nuance, in large part because our physical, sexual, and reproductive labour figured prominently in shaping the plantation structure and economy, a central tenant of modern society. In what follows, I share my thoughts about how Morgan engages these insights in her book, giving focus to her introductory chapter.