Women’s Independence through the Eyes of Poetry
The birth of the Black Feminist Movement was out of the fact that black women often face oppression from multiple sides in society, from their race, their gender, and sometimes their economic status. This intersectionality has led to the second wave of the feminist movement, where many artists, poets, and writers have contributed. One of these contributors is Ntozake Shange, a self-proclaimed black feminist that has done a multitude of works about various social issues that women like her face in their lives. Ntozake Shange emphasizes the importance of observing the multiple layers of oppression that black women face as well as the intersectionality of various social causes. From her play For
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Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf to her poetry in Nappy Edges, Ntozake Shange has been using poetry to enable the many voices of black women and to open a discussion about the double standards that society holds for them. Personal and provocative; these poems reflect a deeper meaning of the cleavages in society and how they influence the experiences of women. Through poetry, Ntozake Shange examines women’s independence by discussing identity, sexual freedom, and the notion of women as victims. Identity is a large part of proclaiming independence for women because it is rejecting the idea that all women have the same experiences in the world. Shange discusses the African American identity and how it plays into the distinctiveness of the black experience. In her play For Colored Girls, Shange has a section in the play called “No More Love Poems” where a group of women talk about their different experiences in love and life as black women. Each lady has a different story about their own reality. The Lady in Yellow, in particular, often struggles with her identity as a black woman and how that causes her issues in her existence. She proclaims that “bein alive & bein a woman & bein colored is a metaphysical dilemma”(For Colored Girls, No More Love Poems #4, p. 59) with the idea that she has figured out that being alive and being a colored woman are all intertwined. This ties back into the intersectionality of being a black woman and facing oppression from all sides, as Shange often makes the point that being alive is not always guaranteed for black Americans. The Lady in Yellow struggles with this crisis of identity as she wrestles with the implications of being alive and being a black woman in this society. Even though the Lady in Yellow does not articulate blame for the creation of these barriers in society, Shange uses her as a vessel in which to discuss that the barriers that black women face are constructions of the racially divided and male dominated society. The Lady in Yellow goes on to say that her “spirit is too ancient to understand the separation of soul & gender” (For Colored Girls, No More Love Poems #4, p. 59) which shows her considering the idea that she cannot understand why these barriers exist for black women and that she does not see any differences between humans as a whole. Even though The Lady in Yellow does not directly confront the society, this is a critique of the patriarchal and racially oppressive culture and the ideas that women and people of color are inferior. The Lady in Yellow does not understand the very basis of the dominant group’s beliefs, as her very essence does not see the difference between men and women. However, the Lady in Yellow, along with all women, are burdened with the task of breaking down these beliefs that the dominant groups hold and the barriers that black women face. One example of these many barriers that had to be broken, are the barriers for women to control their own bodies and lives. During the time that Shange’s book of poetry, Nappy Edges, was written was just a few years after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, a ruling that allowed women to have safe and legal abortions and access to birth control. The decision brought these main issues of women’s sexual freedom into the limelight, as well as diving into the problems that poor women face when it comes to choices about their bodies and livelihood. It was essential for women to have rights over their own bodies because it gave them a lot more mobility and freedom in both their professional and home lives. After the decision it started to change society’s view on women as sexual beings. Sex was then not only seen as just for baby making, but rather for the enjoyment of both partners, a notion that was rather taboo in previous times. Shange examines this idea of pleasure in sex and taking control of her own body in her poem “It’s happenin/but you don’t know abt it”. In the poem, Shange describes her sensual feelings about a man that she is seeing, and what she wanting from the relationship. She tells the reader that she is “naked & wantin to be explored like a honeysuckle patch” (Nappy Edges, It’s Happenin, p. 29). Shange uses direct language to clearly state her desires to both the reader and to perhaps the man that she is seeing. Even though the poem is written in a provocative manner, she is emphasizing that women can be advocates for their own sexual pleasure and relationships. She has clearly rejected the societal construct that women have to be pure beings and cannot have concupiscent thoughts about men. Shange goes on to talk about in her poem that she does not want the man to know that she is in love with him as she says that she has to “mask the sweetness that [he] leaves [her] in” (Nappy Edges, It’s Happenin, p. 29. However, later on when they are having relations, she acknowledges her true feelings but that he remains blissfully unaware. This hints at a kind of casual relationship that does not want to involve lots of ties such as love or true feelings, more as a physical relationship. This ties into the movement in the 1970’s to start to change gender roles and breaking free of the 1960’s ideal housewife stereotypes and the notion that women were there only to please men. These 1970’s women started to have more control over the kinds of relationships that they were allowed to have and these relationships were often more casual and not as defined as previous generations relationships. Shange uses this poem to discuss the shifting ideals of sexual relationships and that feelings do not always have to be inherently tied into sexual relationships. In addition to expanding their sensuality, women were and are expanding into the world around them.
However, this also means that women are continuously being the targets of cruel people as they expand their world from the outside of their homes to the streets. In her poem “With No Immediate Cause”, Shange talks about her horror related to the violence against women and protests against the unfair treatment of women in relation to the law. In the start of the poem, Shange states that “every 3 minutes a woman is beaten/ every five minutes a woman is raped/ every ten minutes a lil girl is molested” (Nappy Edges, With No Immediate Cause, p. 111) showing the plight of the women’s suffering. This is a harsh reality that all women have to face solely because of their gender. Shange uses this poem as a place to question the motives of the men who hurt women as she describes walking around through her daily life. She sees men who could all be part of the violence against women and yet must go on with her life, as do all women. The very nature of the title begs to question as to why women are often the targets of brutal violence and how the victims of such violence are not to blame. Further she uses the title as a comment on how the media and the law treat women differently as in the poem she describes reading in the paper about how battered women could start to fight back and “murder their husbands and lover’s without any immediate cause” (Nappy Edges, With No Immediate Cause, p. 112). Shange argues that women have cause to fight back against their abusers and how the violence against women happens every three minutes, every day, every week. There is a cause, and the cause is the violence women have to face every day just by being alive. This ties back in to the “metaphysical dilemma” (For Colored Girls, No More Love Poems #4, p. 59) of being a woman and how women have to constantly face their mortality every time they step outside. The critique is that the police are
always looking for a cause of the violence, which often leads to victim blaming, i.e. trying to find reason in the rapes and murder of women. Shange states that there are no clear reasons. However, Ntozake Shange’s poetic documentation of the experiences of women shows them as not only victims, but rather women finding strength in a world that is against them at every turn. In Shange’s Work, No More Love Poems in the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, the women are all discussing their different stories about what life is like and their different struggles. At the end of the poems, they all come together and dance to stand together against the “metaphysical dilemma”(For Colored Girls, p. 59, No More Love Poems #4) of being a colored girl. This plays into the idea of women not being victims, but rather taking their oppression and turning it into a powerful source of strength from the support of the women around them. Ntozake Shange’s poetry paints a powerful story of the struggles of women. As she was inspired by the societal changes stirring in the 1970’s, she discussed women’s independence by writing about identity, sensuality, and the concept of women as victims. She uses her poetry as a way to express her views and open up the world to powerful feminine voices. Like it was reflected in her play, she emphasizes the necessity for women to come together and face the many struggles that the racially divided and patriarchal society put in their path.
I chose not to use any of the prompts provided, but instead connect the article to what I learned in my sociology class lass quarter. In class we watched part one of film series of Unnatural causes, titled Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making us Sick "In Sickness and in Wealth". While reading the article this reminded me about the cases studied in the film to see whether wealth inequality contributes to making people sick. In the film they focused on the social determinants of health, wealth and education. In both the article and part one of the film Unnatural Causes they focused on three different individuals and how their health are affected by they choices they make and the access they have to care.
Under any circumstance a woman is seen as being at fault. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, many male societies systematically victimize women. Forcing women to be dependent on men causes them to be victims in households and society. For example Nana says to Mariam, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always” (Hosseini 7). The systematic victimization of women by patriarchal societies is a main theme in the novel, which is shown in the relationships between the men and women in the novel.
In a world where the vast majority of cultures are patriarchal, in response to traditional structures, women often find themselves at war in their minds, hearts and in their own actions. 'Yellow woman' and 'The story of an hour' are examples of how women struggle in a male domintaed society. In these two stories, the women fnd themselves wrestling with thoughts and emotions that our society consider unacceptable. The following statements ,ay be asked and considered of these women:
One profound piece of African American literature is Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf. This revolutionary text presents black women with poems that address the various aspects their life and challenges they face. To aid in the telling the stories of black woman, Ntozak Shange utilizes the feminine gaze. The feminine gaze is the viewing of a scenario from the prospective of a woman. While the masculine gaze often objectifies women, the feminine gaze views women as the complex people that they are. The female perspective is an essential part to the pieces of Shange’s work. One poem in the work that employs this viewpoint is the Lady in Yellow’s “Graduation Nite” poem. The feminine
Today, if a man hits a woman, he is less of a man and a disgrace, not praised and admired as in the past. Although Janie endures the beatings from her husbands, it is the denial of her self-expression that affects Janie the most; this oppression is nearly unheard of today.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Women, black women in particular, are placed in a society that marginalizes and controls many of the aspects of a black woman’s life. As a result, many black women do not see a source of opportunity, a way to escape the drudgery of their everyday existence. For example, if we were to ask black mother’s if they would change their situation if it became possible for them to do so, many would change, but others would say that it is not possible; This answer would be the result of living in a society that has conditioned black women to accept their lots in life instead of fighting against the system of white and male dominated supremacy. In Ann Petry’s The Street, we are given a view of a black mother who is struggling to escape what the street symbolizes.
Throughout history women have learned to find a voice against men through writing. Writing has been a medium where women have learned to speak their minds and allow their ideas to be broadcasted to the world. Women have used writing to discuss issues, such as discrimination, inequality, sexual frustrations, and many more that they have dealt with. In the poem, “A Loyal Woman’s No”, written by Lucy Larcom. She gives power to women to say no to men. Her poem discusses the issues that many women face. They face issues of men taking advantage of them, men objectifying them and using them. However, Larcom’s poem shows a clear progress of women standing up against men, and being firm in saying no to them. Larcom has given women the ability to stand up to man and show the true power that women have over men. Many women fear standing up to men due to the repercussions of their actions, however, Lucy Larcom uses the symbolism of nature and her rhetoric to show a woman’s true power against men and say no and to free themselves of the rigid grasp that so many men have over women.
She lists a series of abuse done to women that all start with “It is a violation of human rights when…” For example, she says, “It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed -- and the kinds of reasons that are used to justify this practice should no longer be tolerated.” These series of eight statements also gives a pathetic appeal because these types of tragedies cause the listener to have pity and compassion for the victim(s).
“[T]he cage may or may not be specifically developed for the purpose of trapping the bird, yet it still operates (together with the other wires) to restrict its freedom” (Alexander, 184). This metaphor used by Michelle Alexander gives a good basis on the idea of intersectionality within feminist theory. What Alexander has stressed hugely in ‘The New Jim Crow’ is the idea of racial hierarchy, which bell hooks also stresses in her chapter Men: Comrades in Struggle in her book ‘Feminist Theory: from margin to center.’ She discusses the hierarchy of men and women while also discussing race. She claims that the history of the feminist movement has not wanted to “acknowledge that bourgeois white women, though often victimized by sexism, have more
As the women narrate the harm caused by men, they lose track of the beings that they once were and become different people in order to cause a reaction in others. These women are hurt in ways that cause them to change their way of living. The Lady in Blue becomes afraid of what others will think of her because a man impregnated her: “i cdnt have people [/] lookin at me [/] pregnant [/] I cdnt have my friends see this” (Shange, Abortion Cycle # 1 Lines 14- 16). Instead of worrying about the life of her child, she worries about how her...
The woman in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and the woman in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire both struggle with discrimination. Celie, a passive young woman, finds herself in mistreatment and isolation, leading to emotional numbness, in addition to a society in which females are deemed second-rate furthermore subservient to the males surrounding them. Like Celie, Blanche DuBois, a desperate woman, who finds herself dependent on men, is also caught in a battle between survival and sexism during the transformation from the old to the new coming South.
In the book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center written by bell hooks, an African-American author, social activist and feminist first published in 1984 the author explains what she believes are the core principles of feminism. Throughout the book the author examines the early feminist theory and goes on to criticize it saying that it did not aim for a systematic change also that the movement has the potential to improve the lives of both men and women immensely. In the book the author investigates the performance of African-American women in the movement and what is needed to drive the movement towards ending oppression of all kinds.
In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.
Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism introduces ideas by Becky Thompson that contradict the “traditional” teachings of the Second Wave of feminism. She points out that the version of Second Wave feminism that gets told centers around white, middle class, US based women and the central problem being focused on and rallied against is sexism. This history of the Second Wave does not take into consideration feminist movements happening in other countries. Nor does it take into consideration the feminist activism that women of color were behind, that centered not only on sexism, but also racism, and classism as central problems as well. This is where the rise of multiracial feminism is put to the foreground and
In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. According to dictionary.reference.com the word feminism means, “The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The Awakening takes place during the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, in New Orleans. The novel is about Edna Pontellier and her family on a summer vacation. Edna, who is a wife and mother, is inferior to her husband, Leonce, and must live by her husband’s desires. While on vacation Edna becomes close friends with Adele Ratignolle, who helps Edna discover she must be “awakened”. Adele is a character who represents the ideal woman. She is loving, compassionate, and motherly. Throughout the novel Edna seeks something more from life than what she has been living. Also, she is unhappy with her marriage, and all through the summer falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Furthermore, Edna attempts to become independent, free, and in control of her own destiny. During this time period the Feminist movement was taking place. The Feminist movement was a time when women fought to prove themselves equal to men. Women fought for the rights to vote, have jobs, and go to school. The late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds showcased the power the women had to prove their equality. According to the excerpt, “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “… The Awakening is its heroine’s break for freedom.” Ultimately, this shows how most women, especially Edna Pontellier, try to break free from the burden of society. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, showcases the feminist critical approach through women’s roles, women characters, influences, and in...