A common theme of the works of Ellen Gallagher is that of racism and its effects. This can be prominently seen in her A ha o girl oo, which reflects on the method by which white culture was artificially imposed upon the black community (specifically women in this case.) A ha o girl oo effectively demonstrates the racism and imposed culture forced upon back women during the 1950s and beyond through refection on its artificiality.
The work A ha o girl oo is presented in the form of a magazine advertisement advertising wigs to give black women “the LENGTH, COLOR and STYLE HAIR” they want, “instantly”. Gallagher has modified this paper in her mutilation of the faces on the figures posing in the wigs. Each of their faces is slightly shifted away from the rest of the body, as if to indicate that it is a removable appendage, and each face has hot pink lip gloss applied. In addition to this, the majority of the “slogan” in the center of the page has been blotted out with black marker, so that the slogan now reads, “A ha O GIRL OO.”
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This piece has a variation of different methods by which it demonstrates its main theme.
The shifted faces on each of the models represents what Gallagher describes as black women’s “prosthetics,” for at this time it was considered socially unacceptable for a black woman to appear in public without a applying dizzying array of products from skin whiteners to wigs, all of the “prosthetics” required for public life. In this instance, the separation of the face show that the face itself as a prosthetic, that in fact all of the artificial prosthetics have made the person themselves a prosthetic, losing themselves in the artificiality of cultural
assimilation. The modification of the slogan provides even more insight into Gallagher’s commentary. The phrase “A ha O GIRL OO,” representing the singing of R & B backup singers, illustrates Gallagher’s portrayal of white culture’s method of appealing to the stereotypical black woman in its slogans, combating stereotype with stereotype. This demonstrates Gallagher’s underlying theme of the total artificiality of an assimilation of the stereotypical black person by the stereotypical white. Ellen Gallagher’s A ha o girl oo provides powerful insight into the artificiality of the attempted assimilation of black culture continuing through the 1950s though demonstration of that artificiality in these products’ role as a “prosthetic” and how those prosthetics were creating a huge sense of artificiality throughout black populations. This racism was further emphasized through Gallagher’s modified title, which revealed the notions of stereotyping underlying the entirety of the racism. A ha o girl oo represents the ideas found throughout Gallagher’s work on racism and cultural influence throughout the early to mid-20th century.
To elaborate, Scott argues that as a picture interpreter, we must make a distinction between the “ideal and the real,” to understand the true meaning of an image. She argues how the Gibson Girl and the American Girl were two idealised visions of modern beauty and femininity which made women to try to be like them. These two girls became markers of their decade, ...
In this study I will examine how, from a feminist perspective, both Toni Morrison's fourth African-American novel, Tar Baby (1981), and Rosa Montero's third post-Franco Spanish novel, Te trataré como a una reina (1983), explore the problems that arise when women believe that they are the stereotypes permeating literature. Both women writers employ similar techniques that subvert and deconstruct the stereotypical roles of men and women, unveiling the fairy tale icons of the heroine and the hero that have been masquerading as "real" people.
By the twentieth century, slavery had damaged black pride, and made it known that black features were inferior. When it came to black women and their hair, black women desperately wanted to match the standard of “white” beauty. Walker’s solution to this was to create a look that was Afro-American without trying to imitate whites. Walker spoke about beauty emphasizing that to be beautiful does not refer to the complexion of your skin, or the texture of your hair, but having a beautiful mind, soul, and character.
Janie Crawford, the novel’s main character, is an African American woman who eventually married three times throughout her lifetime. Her mother was raped by her schoolteacher and eventually gave birth to Janie, leaving her behind for Janie’s grandmother to raise her. A research article focused on Their Eyes Were Watching God concluded that “The devastating impact of the white discourse on black people which has targeted their identity is an integral part of this paper” (J Nov. Appl Sci. 1). It is evident in the novel that Janie (along with several other African Americans) are mistreated because of their skin color. This novel was set in the early 1900s, when although slavery was abolished, African Americans were not treated equally; the whites still held an unwritten superiority towards them. Although an imbalance of equality between whites and blacks is present, this novel should not be banned from the classroom because it teaches the cruel but true history of our nation. Our country’s history cannot be ignored like this, because it is a part of a valuable piece of literature and it makes society appreciate our new customs of equality that currently
Nella Larsen’s novel presents us with a good view of women’s issues of the early 20th century. We see in the two characters seemingly different interpretations of what race, sexuality, and class can and should be used for. For Clare, passing takes her into a whole new world of advantages that she would not have had if she had remained a part of the African-American community. She gains social status and can be seen as an object of sexual desire for many people, not only the black community. Irene leads herself to think that passing is unnecessary, and that she can live a totally happy life remaining who she is. What she fails to realize is that she is jealous of Clare’s status and sometimes passes herself subconsciously. Larsen presents to us the main point of the book – that the root of the love, hate, desire, and rejection that Irene holds for Clare is a result of social standing, not only passing and sexuality.
In the world of literature nothing is more compelling than reading a story and feeling as though you yourself are witnessing firsthand the events and character’s struggles unfold, due to the interactive language and intricate details the author incorporates into their writing. It is through Alice Walker’s conversational style of writing, and vivid use of symbolism that she is able to give an elaborate description of the family culture gap in the story allowing the readers to explore the concept of African- American heritage. These writing techniques also play a major role in keeping the readers engaged from start to finish. This is especially evident in Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”. Walker has skillfully honed her craft and by integrating
Throughout time women have been written as the lesser sex, weaker, secondary characters. They are portrayed as dumb, stupid, and nothing more than their fading beauty. They are written as if they need to be saved or helped because they cannot help themselves. Women, such as Daisy Buchanan who believes all a woman can be is a “beautiful little fool”, Mrs Mallard who quite died when she lost her freedom from her husband, Eliza Perkins who rights the main character a woman who is a mental health patient who happens to be a woman being locked up by her husband, and then Carlos Andres Gomez who recognizes the sexism problem and wants to change it. Women in The Great Gatsby, “The Story of an Hour,” “The Yellow Wall Paper” and the poem “When” are oppressed because the fundamental concept of equality that America is based on undermines gender equality.
The theme of inequality, which is one of the main themes is present in both the “Book of Negroes”, and in the “Our Daughters, Ourselves” article. In the “Our Daughters, Ourselves”, article the 14 engineering students who were females at the University of Montreal were gunned down by a jealous mad man who was 25 years old. He performed this act because they were all simply just women, and left a suicide note blaming feminists for ruining his life, when really he was shocked at the fact that he didn’t get in while these amazing women all did. This man did not approve if the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. These women had put themselves in a
Gallagher first assumes that the reader has read other short stories by Behn, namely, "The Unfortunate Bride." Throughout her essay, Katherine Gallagher continually refers to the story. For example, she states that the color of Mooria's skin represents her "dark designs." She then contrasts the notion of blackness in this story with the notion of blackness in "Oroonoko." Gallagher writes that the representation of blackness in "The Unfortunate Bride" is the opposite of the picture given in "Oroonoko." By reading these stories, the reader is able to un...
Ann Perkins, Jones’ character, is supposed to be an ethnically ambiguous person and in reality, Rashida is biracial (Glamour). Leslie Knope, the white protagonist of the series, frequently uses words like ‘exotic’, ‘tropical’, and ‘ethnically ambiguous’ when complimenting Ann. The ‘compliments’ also act as the only instances where race is spoken about in reference to Ann’s character. One would believe that Leslie’s constant complimenting of Ann is beneficial to viewers with a biracial identity, but there are some serious problems with Leslie’s behavior. There has been an historical and recent fascination with ‘mixed’ children. This fascination has crossed over into fetishizatoin of biracial or mixed children and people. Biracial people are seen less as people and more as a kind of spice that bell hooks mentions in her work “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance” (21). They are something that helps liven up the blandness of the pervasive white culture. Another harmful aspect of Ann’s depiction relates to her class. In Edison’s work, she notes that “biracial individuals living in a middle- and upper-class environments are more likely to be perceived as biracial (rather than black) than those living in working- and lower-class environments” and that “‘color blind’ portrayals of middle- and upper-class Black and biracial characters support the notion that race no longer matters (at least for middle- and upper-class people)” (Edison, 302; 304). Ann’s character is a successful college-educated nurse which is not problematic until one realizes that her race is never truly discussed. This feeds into the stereotype that race does not matter and that all people in the U.S. have the same opportunities. Again, the lack of racial representation leaves one character the duty of depicting a whole group of
Female sexuality is often equated with physical beauty. In The Bell Jar, the protagonist Esther works for an “intellectual” fashion magazine The Ladies’ Day and receives bonuses such as clothing and make-up kits. These false enhancers of female sexuality only make her feel “very empty” (Plath, 3). To fill the empty void in her sexual wellbeing, Esther stows away these beauty products and privately envies the “stern muscular Russian girl with no make-up” at the U.N. (78). As well, Esther admires Jay Cee, the editor who has brains so that “her plug-ugly looks didn’t seem to matter”(6). Esther sees that once a woman is rid of her make-up, she may appear masculine, but her strength will shift towards useful talents such as simultaneous interpretation, which enhances her true feminine value. Indeed, Esther is insulted when she reads a magazine article which insists: “The boy thinks of the universe, its immensity and mystery; the girl thinks, ‘I must wash my hair’”(177). Esther does not belie...
bell hooks in her essay, Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination, describes whiteness as terror for all those who are not white. Hooks’ approach can be intersectional in that she seems to support the black women like herself, whose sufferings are two or threefold; black, female and sometimes poor. She reiterates that just because imperialism, colonialism and apartheid are either over or illegal, it does not mean that their invisibility has seized to reach out to squeeze the life blood from the necks of the oppressed. Ruth Frankenberg’s essay on the other hand, is mainly about white women, as she describes them as oblivious to the enigma. Frankenberg was a British born author who lived in the United States. Hooks lives with racism and deals with it daily, whereas Frankenberg’s
It is not until Celie is an adult that she finally feels content with her life and understands her capacity to be a completely autonomous woman. The concept of racial and gender equality has expanded greatly throughout the twentieth century, both in society and in literature. These changes influence Walker's writing, allowing her to create a novel that chronicles the development of a discriminated black woman. Her main character, Celie, progresses from oppression to self-sufficiency, thereby symbolizing the racial and gender advancements our country has achieved.
In their series of advertisements, Axe uses a series of stereotyped girls and their relationships and sex to appeal to their general demographic of men age 18-24. The second installation of the series titled, “The High Maintenance Girl” follows a couple walking down the sidewalk with the boyfriend carrying his girlfriends numerous shopping bags, her purse, and walking her miniature dog. A voice narrates the situation and his thoughts over the scene describing the struggles of the boyfriend of a high maintenance girl. This specific advertisement plays on the stereotypes of exact...
James Joyce's short story, "Eveline" portrays a young woman who lives in the early twentieth century Ireland. The conflict in the story is that the protagonist Eveline contemplates whether it is right to run away with her lover thus abandoning her family back home. Joyce uses her situation to demonstrate how gender roles in Ireland at the time, and in a larger picture the entire world, are unbalanced because women are seen inferior in comparison to men.