Toni Morrison as a Womanist

2080 Words5 Pages

It is great to be a famous writer and also greater if you were a woman, but here, she is a black woman born in the early 30s of the 20th century, in my opinion it is the greatest because she was a womanist not just a feminist. Toni Morrison is not the first black woman to publish a novel discussing the black community and its suffering of racism. But Harriet E. Wilson did that before her in 1859 (Reuben). Harriet was unable to put her name on her book, due to being black as well as a woman. Since then, black women authors have come a long way in proving themselves as writers. The feminist movement played an important and a huge role in the lives of women allowing them to enjoy rights equal to those of men. While no one argues the importance of the movement to women, feminism unfortunately benefited white women while neglecting women of other races. The term feminism did not bring the same benefits to women of color. However, a movement called “womanisim” supported black women writers. Womanisim is different from feminism in many ways, with the main difference being that womanisim celebrates the culture, traditions and the characteristics of blacks. The word womanism was first introduced by the famous writer Alice Walker in her short story in 1979 titled “Coming Apart”. Walker called the wife in her story a womanist (Coleman 2), explaining the extensively at the beginning of her In Search of our Mother’s Garden: Womanist. 1. From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e. frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “You acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman [...] Also: A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Ap... ... middle of paper ... ...an, Monica A. "Must I Be a Womanist?" Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 22.1 (2006): 96. Print. Kuenz, Jane. "The Bluest Eye: Notes on History, Community, and Black Female Subjectivity." African American Review 27.3 Women's Culture Issue (Autumn, 1993): 431-31. Print. "Lasting Laurels, Enduring Words: A Salute to the Nobel Laureates of Literature." The Georgia Review 49.1 (Spring 1995). Print. Mazurek, Marta. "African American Women and Feminism: Alice Walker’s Womanism as a Proposition of a Dialogic Encounter." Przekładaniec 24 (January 10, 2012): 247-62. Print. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. London: Pan books, 1990. Print Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 3: Harriet E. Adams Wilson." Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. Orlando, FLA Harvest Book Harcourt, 1983. 6-7.

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