Member-only story
It’s a Racial Slur and didn’t even know it!
My grand mother used it often in her speech.
This piece has been inspired by the PushBlack organization…
In the past, it was not unusual for some ole folk to use the term "wench" to refer to Black women and or girls. Originally an Old English word for a servant of any gender, its meaning gradually shifted and became a very derogatory term directed at people of color, presumably negros in general.
After the Middle Ages, the word transformed beyond indicating gender, social status, sexual availability, and age, it also became racialized to refer specifically to an enslaved Black woman.
So The term "wench" served not only as a verbal attack but also implied inferior status of Black women compared to white women. Black women were labeled "nasty wenches" due to the arduous agricultural work they undertook and the stereotype of hypersexuality associated with them. The negro woman was a hot commodity — especially the ones with the wide hip - big booty ones.
"The wench" was portrayed in a distorted manner by white men dressed in drag to mock and belittle Black women and girls. These harmful representations still shape societal perceptions of us today.
