This essay examines the uses of the grotesque in Alice Walker’s novel The Third Life of Grange Copeland. Published in 1970 the novel has been subject to various readings by diverse scholars. However, previous research has failed to take into account the displays of the grotesque in the novel. This essay argues that not only does Walker use the grotesque prominently throughout the novel, but also that Walker constructs an intricate critique of U.S. society through her depictions of the grotesque. Resting largely on the theoretical perspective of Mikhail Bakhtin this essay examines the following grotesque images: the female spectacle, the female adolescent, the hysteric, pregnant death, monstrosity, and whiteness. By exposing Walker’s uses of the grotesque, this essay offers an analysis that exposes the relationship between Walker’s grotesque images and her womanist objective. The aim of The Third Life of Grange Copeland is to critique the oppressive regimes of patriarchy and U.S. white supremacist culture and society. It is argued here, then, that the grotesque is strategically used in different manners when addressing womanist and racial issues. Walker uses the grotesque in order to alter confining gender binaries and expose and criticize the destructive aspects of patriarchal and white supremacist ideologies. Through her narrative and the diverse characters of The Third Life, Walker exposes the repercussions of oppressive white supremacist and patriarchal orders.

Feminism in the early 1980's in the United States revolved much around social and cultural matters such as sexual liberation, self- definition and self- realization for women. Derived from these ideas within feminism comes Alice Walker's Womanism, that is the writer's own definition of the strong and independent woman of color. This paper investigates the character Shug Avery, in The ColorPurple (1983), in relation to feminism and Womanism. It is argued that she is an empowered female because of the characteristics and attributes that come along with being a Womanist, despite moral,cultural and societal conditions that indicate marginalization for Shug and all women.

Queen Afua created the Sacred Woman as a text and program that seeks to heal women of common disorders that particularly affect the African American community. This thesis project is a conversation about the self-care methods embedded within the text that moves away from the ideology of the strongblackwoman. I position both theories and methods of self-care by using a womanist theoretical framework, as well as textual analysis and interviews as methods that examine the womanist concept of spiritual activism, which expands what is thought of as radical and liberatory activist actions.

Thesis (M.A. (English studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Gender role expectations are mostly influenced and perpetuated by patriarchy whereby women are marginalised by their surroundings while men are granted the will to do as they wish. The institution of patriarchy thrives on oppressing women in many ways and silencing them is one of those various ways. This study was prompted by the need to explore the experiences that surround African women and that of women in the African diaspora with regard to muted voices of marginalised females. Their inability to express themselves in the name of respecting culture and conforming to the expected behaviour as per their gender is majorly explored. The current study is a literary analysis of Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus (2005) which is narrated by fourteen- year-old Kambili. In it, Adichie explores patriarchy through the family of a strict catholic man by the name of Eugene Achike who stifles his family due to his strict supposed laws of God. Also, The Colour Purple (1982) by Alice Walker is analysed. In this epistolary novel, Walker documents the story of two sisters, Nettie and Celie, who become estranged as a result of their muffled conditions. While the contexts for the novels are distinctly different in many ways, they share oppressive ideologies towards women, which is the colonial experience in Africa. The aims and objectives of this study were met by using the Feminism, African feminism, Womanism theories and the concept of intersectionality as references. The findings indicate that sisterhood relationships and economic independence are huge emancipators for marginalised women.

The purpose of this research project has been to shed light on the experiences of Black women in Afrocentric groups' Nation of Gods and Earths, the Black Panther Party, and Rastafarians' that operated on the fringes of society during the 1960s through the early 2000s. This work articulates the gender dynamics between the men and women of the groups. In it, I trace the history of Black nationalism and identity in the United States in the late 19th century to the 20th century which set the framework for the formation of the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE), the Black Panther Party(BPP), and Rastafarianism and its members to see themselves as a part of the Black nation or community and the women of these groups to see their identity tied in with the goals and desires of the group not as one set on individualistic ambitions. The Africana womanist did not see herself as an individual but rather a vital part of the entire Black community. From a feminist perspective, it would appear as though the women of these Afrocentric fringe groups were marginalized and oppressed by the men but this perspective fails to give credence to the fact that Rasta women, Earths—the female members of the NGE—and women Panthers saw race and racism as a more pressing issue than that of sexism. That is not to say that women in these groups did not question or challenge some of the sexist actions of their male counterparts. When there was a challenge it was done so in a way that reminded the men of the tenets of their respective group and their responsibility to uphold those principles; principles that required the men to consider the women as equally valuable in the cause of the group and deserving of just treatment. While adhering to a gender order that afforded the male members a more visible position, the women of this study did not view their positions as mothers, wives, and sister members as a hindrance to their own personal joy or freedom. In fact, using an Africana womanist point of view, they would argue that it was in the best interest of the entire Rasta, NGE, or BPP and by extension, the Black community for them to own their statuses as a form of empowerment. For it was through their wombs and nurturing that the next generation would be born, through their providing a stable home that would allow their husbands to focus their attentions on the issues concerning their communities outward and through their role as supportive "sisters" encouraging the men that the community could advance socially. / Master of Arts

Historically, Black women have often been excluded from the discussion on leadership. This thesis argues that the leadership roles of the women in the Nation of Gods and Earths are consis-tent with the concepts of both Africana womanism and Black women’s leadership. However, through an analysis of Earth’s oral testimonies, this research concludes that though racism is the most pervading obstacle faced by Black people, The Nation of Gods and Earths must address and reevaluate the sexism that exists within its doctrine and practice. By doing so, the group can be-gin to recognize Black women’s leadership and utilize it more effectively. The Nation should collectively transform its gender inequality, in a way that does not compromise its culture, as a means of successfully sustaining and strengthening itself and the communities of which it serves.

Cette étude examine le canon littéraire d'Alice Walker et explore les différentes dimensions de sa philosophie du « womanism » par rapport à la double oppression des femmes noires américaines. Elle explore les liens qui peuvent émerger entre la politique et l'esthétique ainsi que l'impact des éléments autobiographiques sur l'œuvre de fiction. La première partie traite de la représentation fictive du mouvement des Droits Civiques dans Meridian (1976) et explore l'activisme politique de Walker pendant les années 1960. La deuxième partie se concentre sur l'analyse théorique du « womanism » et propose une étude de The Color Purple (1982) qui explore la violence conjugale dans la communauté noire et dépeint le poids de la solidarité féminine. Enfin, la troisième partie se penche sur le sujet controversé de la mutilation génitale des femmes (excision) et sa représentation dans Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992) et Warrior Marks (1993). En somme, les écrits de fiction de Walker affichent une interprétation significative des réalités politiques de l'oppression institutionnalisée entre les sexes, aux Etats-Unis et dans le monde. / The purpose of this study is to examine Alice Walker's literary canon and to investigate the different dimensions of her womanist philosophy regarding the racial and gender oppression of African American women. This research explores the links that may emerge between politics and aesthetics as well as the impact of autobiographical elements on the work of fiction. It displays the weight of Walker's womanist contribution in black literature and her ability to offer new definitions of blackness and womanhood. The first part deals with the fictional representation of the Civil Rights Movement in Meridian (1976) and explores Walker's own political activism in the 1960s. The second part centers on a theoretical analysis of womanism and offers a study of The Color Purple (1982) which explores domestic violence in the black community. Finally, the third part delves into the controversial subject of Female Genital Mutilation and its representation in Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992). In sum, Walker's fictional writings display a significant interpretation of the political realities of institutionalized gender oppression in the USA and around the world.

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<p>The Emancipation of Celie: The Color Purple as a womanist Bildungsroman</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to study The Color Purple as a Bildungsroman, focusing on the development of the protagonist, Celie. The Color Purple is related to both the traditional Bildungsroman and to the female Bildungsroman, but the essay shows that it can also be seen as a womanist Bildungsroman. Initially, Celie believes that being a woman inescapably means that she has to serve and obey men and she is oppressed by patriarchy. She is eventually introduced to another way of living by the strong female characters of Sofia and Shug who embrace her in a kind of sisterhood, which is vital for Celie as she has nothing else to help her liberate herself from the patriarchal values that keep her down. In conclusion, this essay shows how Celie has developed from being a young girl, forced to act in an adult way, into a woman who displays signs of all the criteria for having achieved a womanist development: she is grown up (not just acting as though she is), she is in charge of a business, a house and, in short, her life. She is serious, she has a universalist perspective, and most importantly, she loves. Furthermore, the essay highlights which characteristics of her development can be linked to the traditional and the female Bildungsroman and which characteristics can be seen as typical of a womanist Bildungsroman.</p>

Black girls continue to suffer from inequitable treatment in schools resulting in disparate academic and social outcomes. While deficit ideologists have continued to attribute outcomes to cultural deficiencies within the Black community, research has found various systemic issues of racism and sexism seriously affecting Black girls in schools. However, the experiences of this population remain under or uninvestigated. When Black girls’ experiences in school are investigated, they are commonly framed as a group in need of saving and their perspectives and voices eliminated from the work. Further, this group is often homogenized and all their experiences limited to those of the inner-city or urban environments. Using a critical raced-gendered epistemology, grounded in critical race theory and Black feminism/womanism, this qualitative interview study explores Black high school girls’ experiences in a predominately White suburban public school in the southeast. Through the method of storytelling that includes constructing counter narratives, five girls (ages 14-16) relay their experiences in this predominately White suburban educational space. Parent reflections as well as document review augment these girls’ stories to further illuminate their experience. A grounded theory analysis of these data uses my own cultural intuition. This analytic approach foregrounds the intersectionality of Black girls’ understanding of their racial and gendered educational experiences in a predominantly White suburban environment, the systemic barriers that serve to inhibit their success, and the methods of resistance girls use to persist in these spaces. This study is significant in both its methodology as well as results, offering critical insight into how to conduct equitable and liberatory research and create education policies to improve outcomes for this underserved group.