Would a gay slave-owner in the antebellum southern US who sexually exploited his male slaves be regarded as more scandalous than a straight slave-owner who did it to female slaves, or was there an implicit "it's not the Sin of Sodom if it's just your chattels" type rule?

by Maklodes

I've come across some claims that there was a kind of ritualized public rape of male slaves used as punishment, referred to as "breaking the buck," but I don't know whether the sources I've come across are reliable.

Would a slave owner in the antebellum southern US who preferred men be regarded as particularly scandalous, if his activities became known to the local (free/white) community? Or would it be more like a slave owner and slave women -- i.e. it's not something you would publicly brag about, exactly, but if people found out you had such proclivities, it's not a big deal?

scratchedhead

While it doesn't directly address your question, /u/sowser's answer is a particularly in-depth look at whether buck breaking existed (no) and why same-gender sexual exploitation of slaves is is probably not captured that well in the historical record.