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Universidade Do Estado Do Rio De Janeiro Centro De Educação E Humanidades Instituto De Letras Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Centro de Educação e Humanidades Instituto de Letras Roberta Ventura Calabre Fighting the Strai(gh)tjacket: black women bonding in “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple” Rio de Janeiro 2010 Roberta Ventura Calabre Fighting the Strai(gh)tjacket: black women bonding in “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple Dissertação apresentada, como requisito parcial para obtenção do título de Mestre, ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Área de concentração: Literaturas de Língua Inglesa. Orientadora: Profª. Drª. Eliane Borges Berutti Rio de Janeiro 2010 CATALOGAÇÃO NA FONTE UERJ/REDE SIRIUS/CEHB S559 Calabre, Roberta Ventura. Fighting the strai(gh)tjacket: black women bonding in “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple” / Roberta Ventura Calabre. – 2010. 118 f. Orientadora: Eliane Borges Berutti. Dissertação (mestrado) – Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Letras. 1. Shockley, Ann Allen. Loving Her – Teses. 2. Walker, Alice, 1944- . The Color Purple – Teses. 3. Racismo na literatura – Teses. 4. Negras – Estados Unidos – Condições sociais – Teses. 5. Lesbianismo na literatura – Teses. I. Berutti, Eliane Borges. II. Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Letras. III. Título. CDU 820(73)-95 Autorizo, apenas para fins acadêmicos e científicos, a reprodução total ou parcial desta dissertação __________________________ __________________ Assinatura Data Roberta Ventura Calabre Fighting the Strai(gh)tjacket: black women bonding in “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple” Dissertação apresentada, como requisito parcial para obtenção do título de Mestre, ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Área de concentração: Literaturas de Língua Inglesa. Aprovado em 8 de março de 2010. Banca Examinadora: ___________________________________________ Profª. Drª Eliane Borges Berutti (Orientadora) Instituto de Letras da UERJ ___________________________________________ Profª. Drª. Maria Conceição Monteiro Instituto de Letras da UERJ ___________________________________________ Prof. Dr. Jorge Luis Pinto Rodrigues Instituto de Letras da IFRJ Rio de Janeiro 2010 DEDICATION To the one whose natural talent in the English language and whose passion for learning inspired me to become what I am, who I am. Looking back, it is truly amazing to realize how far I have come, just for the love of studying you instilled in me. I hope to have made you proud. It saddens me every day to know that, no matter how much I accomplish in life, you will not be there to see it. Mom, I miss you more than I let myself show. I love you. Thank you for everything. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is not enough room to thank everyone who contributed to the realization of this work. Ms. Dawn Reid, from the Theatre Royal of Stratford East, who first opened my eyes to the issues concerning the black community through her wonderful lecture, I thank you. My advisor Eliane Borges Berutti, whose “tough love” proved to be very effective in pulling these pages from my head. For your understanding that “life happens” even when you have a deadline, my sincere thanks. Robert Dickinson, whose patience, love and infinite care helped me not only to manage the Master’s program, but to literally live through it. For your understanding that “deadlines happen” even when you have a life, I thank you from the heart. To my father, for keeping me fed, clothed and somewhat warm, I thank you and I love you. My closest friends and work colleagues, whose endless assistance helped me meet my deadlines, teach my students and still look good to their parents, my most sincere thanks. My professors and colleagues at UERJ, for the wonderful times, lessons and laughs, I thank you all. This has been a wonderful experience, and you have earned a special place in my heart. How much easier (it) would be if there were one book […] that would tell me something specific about my life. One book based in Black feminist and Black lesbian experience […]. When such a book exists then each of us will not only know better how to live, but how to dream. Barbara Smith RESUMO CALABRE, Roberta Ventura. Fighting the Strai(gh)tjacket: black women bonding in “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple”. 2010. 124 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Literaturas de Língua Inglesa) - Instituto de Letras, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2010. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar como as relações lésbicas são retratadas nas obras “Loving Her” e “The Color Purple”. Ao analisar as relações entre homens/mulheres e mulheres/mulheres, este estudo também revê e critica o “golpe triplo” sofrido por lésbicas negras, por serem, ao mesmo tempo, mulheres, afro- americanas e homossexuais. Utilizando fatos históricos para situar as obras em um contexto social, além da teoria do lesbian continuum afim de atestar a riqueza e diversidade do laço afetivo entre mulheres, este trabalho vem por desmistificar as noções simplistas em relação à literatura lésbica Afro-Americana, afugentando a sombra que pairava sobre o “tabu” e elevando a mulher negra, lésbica ou não, a seu lugar de direito na sociedade. Palavras-chave: Ficção afro-americana. Lésbicas. Sexualidade. Racismo. ABSTRACT The aim of this work is to analyze how lesbian relationships are portrayed in the fictional works “Loving Her” and “The Color Purple”. By analyzing the relationships between men/women and women/women depicted in the chosen literary works, this study also revises and criticizes the “triple strike” suffered by black lesbians for being females, African-Americans and homosexuals. Using historical facts to place the fictional works in a social frame, and using the theory of lesbian continuum to attest the richness and diversity of women bonding, this work demystifies the simplistic notions of African-American lesbian literature, casting away the shadow upon the “unspeakable” and elevating black women, lesbians or not, to their rightful place in society. Keywords: African-American fiction. Lesbians. Sexuality. Racism. SUMMARY INTERSECTING HER STORIES ……….…………………………………….9 1. FIGHTING FOR LOVE, FIGHTING FOR LIFE…...……………………….….18 2. LOVING ONESELF …...…………………………………………………..…….38 2.1 The strai(gh)tjacket ..…….……….………………..……………….....…….....42 2.1.1 The black macho and the perfect family sham…..………..….……………....44 2.1.2 The failure of black aesthetics..........….........................................................48 2.2 Freedom …………………………………………………………………………50 2.2.1 Domestic bliss …………………………………………………………………...52 2.2.2 The lesbian world for blacks & whites………………………………………....57 2.3 “The Cult of Victimology” ….……...……………………………….....……....63 3. PURPLE …..………..……….……………………………………………………71 3.1 Black women’s oppression....……………….……………………………..…74 3.1.1 Racism …………...…………………………………………………….…………74 3.1.2 Weeds in their own backyard …..………………………………………………75 3.1.3 Looking into the oppression ……………………………………………...…….80 3.2 “Some womans can’t be beat”………………………………………………..85 4. LIVING TO LOVE, LOVING TO LIVE …………………...……...…………..…98 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………...107 9 INTERSECTING HERSTORIES Literature is a form of learning. We learn and grow from knowledge of human behavior and relationships that we discover in works of art. The experiences contained in a book can provide a number of sentiments such as comfort, enlightenment or relief to a troubled soul. Each writer, an expert or not, a liver or an observer, has the power to change preconceived notions, challenge the world, let more light in the sultry room of forbidden subjects he or she has chosen to bring to life. Dealing with the literature of the “unspeakable” elevate these author’s writings “to a degree beyond the confinement imposed by the literary structures of the hegemonic power”1. The works presented in this research show the experience of black women, written by black women, about black women. Being the least visible group not only in fine arts, but also in popular media, it is time for the African- American women to come out and acknowledge the weeds in their own backyard. The issues they deal with go far beyond their skin color, though. Sexism, male violence, racial prejudice and the exploration of their sexuality compose this intricate web of black female oppression. However, ethnicity, gender and sexuality norms can straitjacket such literature which has the unique power to provide access to the subjectivity and complexity of these black women. The introduction of black lesbian character in mainstream literature, in special, allows closeted black women readers to finally meet someone they can relate to. For other women of color, reading about the black lesbian as a real person with similar struggles allows them to experience the different, the individuality of their sisters. Hence the importance of acknowledging works which introduce black lesbian issues to a wide, multicultural readership, exploring the intersections of sexuality, ethnicity, gender and class (KEATING, 1997, p.14). The study of black women writers and their real and fictional struggles is not only important for anyone studying lesbian literature, but anyone studying black history. The main aim of this thesis is to investigate, analyze and compare how lesbian relationships are portrayed in the fictional works Loving Her and The Color Purple. This study also intends to, by analyzing the relationships between men/women and 1 <http://webs.wofford.edu/hitchmoughsa/Toward.html> Access on: June 18, 2008. 10 women/women depicted in the chosen
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