The Commodification of the Womb: A Historical Attack on Black Women’s Reproductive Freedom

The commodification of the Black body is a process deeply rooted in slavery that has transcended a century’s worth of political and social change since abolition. In a literal sense, within the context of slavery, the Black body was commodified as both a force of labour and a resource for reproduction to feed the growth of America’s slave economy. In the present day, the commodification of the Black body has taken on a political and metaphorical meaning; Black women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom are commonly used as a form of political currency for anti-abortion lobbyists throughout the United States. This paper covers the history of the commodification of Black women’s bodies while also displaying the ways in which Black women’s reproductive and bodily autonomy are targeted today. Drawing on theories of the fragmented commodity, the right to privacy, and reproductive freedom, this paper displays modern issues that are part of a historical continuity of targeting black women and their right to freedom.