Ashlee Jenae, Femicide, Double Standards, & Male Rage

Courtesy of Mashable

A thread about a beautiful influencer’s engagement to her wealthy boyfriend was among the top trending topics on Lipstick Alley. Vaguely, I clicked on the thread and looked at the pictures of this woman and her fiancé. I wasn’t quite impressed with the scenario. Something didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t explain it, but it looked like another sugar baby/daddy situation where the woman was being lavished with gifts and money from an older and wealthy man. These kinds of situations tend to be lopsided and don’t benefit women.

A week later, there was a thread about this same influencer’s death in a Tanzanian hotel. Automatically, my sights were on her fiancé. I believe and still believe that he has something to do with her death.

This influencer was Ashlee Jenae, and her fiancé is Joe McCann.

Immediately, news about Ashlee Jenae’s death spread across the internet. There were mixed reactions to the story. Many people were sympathetic towards her family and wanted justice for what happened to her. Many black women are invested in the case and following for updates. Then, you have some black men who have less than satisfactory reactions to the situation. Many black men believe that Ashlee Jenae got what she deserved for being with a white man, whom they view as their historical enemy. Yet these same men haven’t spoken up about the publicized incidents where black women (and children) have been killed by black men.

These same men haven’t spoken out about the former Virginia lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, who killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax. Or the fact that Miami vice-mayor, Nancy Metayer Bowen, was killed by her husband. Or the Louisiana father, Shamar Elkins, murdered eight children, seven of whom were his own children, and wounded two women. A pregnant Houston resident, Ashanti Allen, was killed by the father of her child, Kevin Faux. Pastor Tammy McCollum was killed by her husband in a domestic dispute. And Barbara Deer, a licensed speech pathologist, was murdered by her son. Other murders occurred this month that these same men are glossing over to highlight Ashlee Jenae’s demise to serve as an example “not to swirl” with white men.

A montag of black women killed by their partners this month

In other words, those men are upholding the double standard that incidents like this matter more when a white man is involved. They have nothing to say when a black man is involved in a black woman’s demise. Some of them would even find excuses to exonerate the black man. For example, journalist Roland Martin tried to downplay Justin Fairfax’s psychopathy and present him as a “good brotha” who suffered from a bout of mental health issues. The backlash Roland Martin faced reflected the glaring contrast between the community sentiment of upholding the image of black male respectability, while a growing number of black women continue to remain disillusioned.

In reality, Cerina Fairfax’s murder at the hands of her black husband, Justin Fairfax, is just as grisly and horrific as Ashlee Jenae’s seemingly untimely death. Same with Nancy Metayer Bowen’s death at the hands of her husband. Yet Ashley’s death and her white fiance gets all the attention to propagate the dangers of swirling while ignoring the dangers of intra-racial dynamics where the woman is abused and murdered.

According to statistics, femicide is a pressing issue facing black women. Black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are disproportionately at risk of being murdered by their partners. It is the leading cause of murder for women in that age range. In 2020, the average homicide rate for black women was 11.6 per 100,000 compared to 3 per 100,000 for white women. This disparity has been prevalent since 1999. Wisconsin is said to be the state where there is the greatest disparity between the deaths of white women and black women(ages 25–44). Firearms are said to be among the most common weapons used in homicide deaths involving black women.

Other Statistics:

• Black women are 14% of the female population in America, but make up 31.4% of women killed by men in single-victim/offender incidents in 2023.
• 90.2% of black women are killed by the men that they knew. Out of this percentage, 54.2% of them are wives, former wives, and girlfriends of these men.
• The number of black women shot and killed by their husbands and partners is three times and a half times as high as that of male strangers murdered using all weapon choices in single-victim/offender incidents.
• Black women are most likely killed in the midst of an argument by a firearm.
• Pregnant black women are eight times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than non-pregnant black women.
• Pregnant and/or postpartum black women are three times more likely to be killed than white women.
• In 2020, it was reported that black women are killed at the rate of four per day.
• An average of 1,821 black girls and women were killed in 2020.

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Courtesy of American Inequality

With this data analyzed, one must wonder what could be causing the prevalence of femicide in the black community. Structural inequalities in housing, education, employment, and the justice system do play a role, but there is something much deeper that isn’t addressed. The insidious nature of male entitlement. Many men feel entitled to a woman due to proximity, desire, and access to resources. Especially in the black community. Once these men can’t get what they want, their entitlement turns into rage. Their rage escalates when they realize that the woman wants to end the relationship.

The proliferation of male rage could be seen in Justin Fairfax’s murder of Cerina after she filed for divorce. Cerina was given full-custody of their children, and he was ordered to leave the home by the end of the month. Instead, he killed her in rage. That same rage Shamar Elkins used to kill those children and wound two other women. Elkins couldn’t take the fact that his wife wanted a divorce. The same rage that ended Nancy Bowen’s life. It is a male rage that is reaping havoc in the community that needs to be addressed and solved.

Male rage could have played a role in Ashlee Jenae’s demise, but the story is still unfolding. There are many details that are being investigated by the authorities. While I suspect her fiancé played a role in her death, we don’t know the whole story. However, I wouldn’t rule out rage in this situation, but I digress. Let’s see how the story unfolds.

In conclusion, I believe that the reaction to Ashlee Jenae’s demise is a reflection of the double standards and gender dynamics in the African American community. Ashlee’s interracial relationship doesn’t justify the gleeful responses from certain men and even women to her death. These same people avoid the deaths of high-profile black women, like Cerina Fairfax, at the hands of black men. Unfortunately, Ashlee Jenae’s death is a growing pattern of femicide that is disproportionately affecting black women. And we can’t address this issue without the mention of male rage. There will be more fatalities until femicide is addressed and something is implemented to ensure the safety of black girls and women in society.