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The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman of mixed race owned by PresidentThomas Jefferson, and had a long-term relationship and six children with him?
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Can you explain this edit summary from Sally Hemings: "Restore neutral statement. "enslaved" is a highly derogatory term and is no more "correct" than referring to Hemings in human terms, as a slave and a nanny." [1]? None of that seems to check out but perhaps I misunderstand what you are saying Horse Eye's Back (talk) 14:32, 9 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Horse Eye's Back, thanks for the inquiry and for not reverting without any discussion. I'm surprised my edit hasn't been reverted already, given all the hype and focus on slavery today hundreds of years later. Okay, the idea of "enslaved" as a derogatory term is of course an idea that falls into the realm of opinion. My reasoning, however, is that I have seen the term used this way by various users before. In one instance, this new user, with what appeared to be a single purpose account, went to dozens of articles and substituted "enslaved", or "enslaver" for phrases like 'was a slave', or 'who owned slaves', or 'who used slave labor', etc. This was obviously a derogatory effort. The idea of "enslaved" as it's often used today suggests, 'kept in chains' and 'whipped', and someone wore rags and was fed slop, etc, and that was rarely the case. Again, this is my opinion, but it is not an unfounded opinion. I suppose if one was to challenge this idea it would be one opinion v the other opinion. In the case of the Sally Hemings article, it is much more objective to define her in terms of what she was as a person, i.e. " a female slave with one-quarter African ancestry and was a nanny," -- not merely some entity who was simply "enslaved". Having said that, if someone decides to revert, I'll not challenge. Thanks again for your inquiry. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 16:06, 9 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting, today most condisider calling someone a slave to be derogatory and dehumanizing... So refering to somone as an enslaved woman rather than a female slave is preferable if someone is trying to objective to define her in terms of what she was as a person (slave is not part of who she was as a person). Some more context on the debate between the two terms[2][3][4][5]. This bit speaks to a comparable situatuon to Hemming's "For example, we use phrases like enslaved woman, rather than slave. The noun slave implies that she was, at her core, a slave. The adjective enslaved reveals that though in bondage, bondage was not her core existence. Furthermore, she was enslaved by the actions of another. Therefore, we use terms like enslaver, rather than master, to indicate one’s effort to exert power over another." Horse Eye's Back (talk) 15:47, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Horse Eye's Back — It's already understood that slaves were human. They are commonly referred to as such by multiple reliable sources, much more so than referring to them as being "enslaved", which again, more than suggests that they were kept in chains, work rags and were whipped to make them work. The Sally Hemings article, while including the noun slave, also defines her as a female with one-quarter African ancestry who was a nanny, which is much more humanistic than simply referring to her as being "enslaved" -- Gwillhickers (talk) 16:12, 13 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Calling someone a slave is dehumanizing. You seem to be arguing that Sally Hemings was not treated bad enough for it to count as enslaved? " kept in chains, work rags and were whipped to make them work" all applies to Hemings. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 15:27, 15 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Referring to Hemings as a salve is no more dehumanizing than simply referring to her as someone who was enslaved, while ignoring (deleting) that she was a female, with a mixed racial background who served as a nanny. As for treatment, she lived in a mansion and as a nanny enjoyed a lifestyle far better than most white farmers did. She had the opportunity to stay in France when she was there with Jefferson taking care of his daughters, but still returned and continued living in a mansion with her own room. Much of the problem is that some people try to interpret the past by look looking through a 21st century lens with their modern day stereotypes. In any case, as mentioned, we seem to be at a point where we are simply having an opinionated tug-o-war. In that case, we should not assert personal opinion and simply say what the overwhelming majority of the scholars say, and have said, all along. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 15:33, 16 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We are discussing Hemings, not the speculation that "most" slaves were raped. Even award winning Annette Gordon Reed acknowledges that the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings was consensual. In any case, I just cited the facts surrounding Hemings as outlined by all the reliable sources. That is not "racism". No one is trying to justify slavery because they were black. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 15:58, 16 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"Enslaved person" is the more typical usage in modern vernacular. It is not derogatory, and saying that "slave" is more neutral is nonsense. Let's flip this back as contested, please. VQuakr (talk) 17:57, 17 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
