Introduction
The introduction to “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism” by bell hooks highlights the intersectionality of ethnicity and sexual identity in the oppression of black women. Similarly, Janie Crawford in Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God“ experiences this interconnectedness as she navigates the world as a black woman in the 1920s and 1930s.
One of the issues hooks examines is the idea that African American women are often reduced to their physical bodies and are not seen as complete individuals with thoughts, feelings, and desires. This is also evident in Janie’s experiences, as she is objectified by the males in her life, who judge her based on her physical appearance and seek to control her through marriage. Janie is also expected to conform to traditional gender roles and is punished when she does not fulfill these expectations. Even though the positions of African American women have changed throughout history, a comparison of the readings of bell hooks and Zora Hurston portrays the intersectionality of gender and race in their oppression.
Racism and Sexism
One of the evident themes in “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Woman and Feminism“ is the experience of African-American women where sexism and racism converge. hooks demonstrates how male leaders of the black community fought for racial equality. Sexism is depicted when black women are discouraged from participating in activist movements. The active females outside the home were supposed to assume the primary domestic chores. The author states that over the years, there has been a push to redefine and rebuild the black community from white supremacy.
The African American women promote and embrace a patriarchal society; however, they are outraged by the inability of their male counterparts to earn wages similar to those of white men. According to hooks, the African American community discourages its women from marrying white men (hooks 89). She further maintains that the historical exploitation of African American females is employed to advance the notion that all whites are predatory rapists. Thus, racism is integral in the predatory habit of white males toward African American women. This issue of race is shown in “Their Eyes Were Watching God“ in the American South in the early twentieth century.
Janie’s beautiful and unusual appearance as an African American woman living in the black community in the American South sparks attention from different groups she encounters, most of which are characterized by racist attitudes. This is demonstrated in her utterance, “us talks about de white man keepin’ us down. Shucks. He doesn’t have tuh…“ (Hurston Ch. 5, par. 73). This aspect of racism is further demonstrated by Mrs. Turner, a part of the black community but extremely racist against African Americans. For instance, this character scorns Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake and repeatedly convinces Janie to marry her brother, who is light-skinned.
Being an African American female, Mrs. Turner’s racist attitude against blacks shows that race is not a marker of difference. Thus, throughout the novel, racism is viewed as a set of ridiculous prejudices in the community. Another illustration of racism in the book is through Starks, who is associated with a farm manager since he has a mansion in the city. This is evident in the quote, “The rest of town looked like servants’ quarters surrounding the big house“ (Hurston Ch. 5, par. 138). He becomes an authority figure because he is wealthy and determined to establish a black village.
Gender Roles and Relationships
hooks argues that white females tend to have less authority than their male counterparts because of their gender. She also contends that the interracial relationships between African American males and white females do not threaten the white community. However, due to patriarchy, the females adopt the status of their husbands (hooks 93). Another observation from this lens of intersectionality is that white males and African American females do not marry at the same rates as compared to black males and white women. That is attributed to the historical stereotypes that make the whites view African American females as undesirable wife material.
Furthermore, African American females are barred from engaging in the women’s liberation movements, as that is considered to jeopardize the integrity of the civil rights movement. The roles of black women are reduced to managing the kitchen, housekeeping, and caring for their children, along with full-time work (hooks 55). This issue of sex roles is featured in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God“ in the stereotyped ideologies regarding relations between women and men.
Throughout the novel, women are disempowered while men are empowered. Janie’s relationships with men, including Tea Cake, Johnny Taylor, Starks, and Killicks, demonstrate that. Janie is viewed as being defined by her relationship and thus expected to be proper, silent, and obedient to her lovers. Janie is also seen as an ornament that bolsters Stark’s social standing and helps justify his endeavors to exercise authority over everybody. Both Killicks and Starks want Janie to be domesticated and her silence and speech to be defined by her physical location. In addition, she is barred from interacting with the city’s residents.
Starks says, “…Muh wife don’t know nothin’ bout no speech-making. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat“ (Hurston Ch. 5, par. 108). Throughout the novel, Janie is seen to lose parts of herself under the influence of male domination. There are power struggles in Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake as he exercises command over her until his demise. She sees marriage as a way of gaining financial security and status for her granddaughter. Hence, Nanny does not believe an African American may gain autonomy without a male. Janie has contrary opinions as she seeks authentic love and self-expression built on mutual respect.
Feminism and Masculinity
Hook argues that capitalism and feminism force women to work alongside men to earn a living. Throughout the book, hooks exposes the capitalist patriarchy that generally fools males into performing dehumanizing jobs. She also states that men lose their sense of authority by executing violence against women in society (hooks 19).
The role of masculinity is demonstrated through the objectification and subordination of females in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God.“ African American women experience greater oppression as their efforts to attain self-independence are viewed as ineffective in the struggle for egalitarianism for the black community. On the other hand, African American males are submissive to American employers and thus comply with the patriarchal institutions of white masculinity.
In the novel, males view females as objects to acquire, pursue, and manipulate through physical force and courting. That is illustrated through Janie’s journey to search for her autonomy and self-identity in the pursuit of true love. Moreover, femininity is demonstrated through mules, elements, and property analogies. Females in the novel are supposed to look beautiful and be obedient to their husbands, thus viewed as trophy prizes for men.
In the novel, black women are objectified as mules to be purchased and sold by farmers and work until exhaustion. For instance, Janie perceives herself as a mule without a voice, available to amuse others. That is illustrated when the townspeople laugh at the working animal bought by Stark. Nanny explained to Janie how black women were objected as mules, “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so far as Ah can see“ (Hurston Ch. 2, par. 44).
She empathizes with the working animal and decides not to laugh with others as she feels outraged by the experience. In that case, the animal symbolizes the feminine sex roles by which males oppress and humiliate females who are labeled incapable of reasoning and require continual guidance from the opposite gender. That prevents women from gaining independence and from pursuing their happiness.
Value of Women in Marital Relations
In both cases, the authors portray how black girls are devalued or valued in their spousal relations. Beginning with her relationship with Logan, Janie is expected to confirm her worthiness by being laborious and active. In all forms of physical labor, she endured physical beatings and insults from her male counterparts.
In pursuing a better marriage, she leaves Logan and falls in love with Starks, where she experiences more violence and belittlement. Starks expects Janie to do kitchen jobs, stay indoors, avoid socializing, and cover her hair in public. In all marital relationships, Janie faced the challenges that most black girls lived through during that time.
Janie could not feel love and affection, but she experienced independence as a lady in her second marriage. Following the death of Starks, she was left to take care of their property and store and thus be able to enjoy freedom and lead a balanced life free of violence. Consequently, she kept abreast of self-reliance, independence, home ruling, and ownership skills. Janie enjoyed genuine love in her last relationship and discovered her identity as a black female.
The book is written in a local and dialectal language that articulates it as a narrative of an African American girl from the American South. The main character, Janie, acts as an occasional narrator and protagonist, narrating her experiences in life. On different occasions, Janie conveys her growing gap from the sexual and societal standards that were part of the patriarchal ideals acceptable in the 1900s.
Similarly, the black community did not have self-affirmation and self-realization values in the twentieth century. Instead, they forced patriarchal values, and married women were under the control of their husbands. For instance, Janie experienced domestic violence in her marital relationship with Tea Cake and Starks.
However, after the death of Starks, she was liberated from abuse (Hurston Ch. 13). Janie was brought up by her grandmother, Nanny, and her experiences as a freedwoman and an enslaved person informed how she viewed the world. Janie could obey and follow her grandmother’s advice even though things did not work out as expected. During the early twentieth century, blacks believed in marriage since they had been prevented from such under slavery.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both “Their Eyes Were Watching God“ and “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism“ explore the intersectionality of sex and race through their characters in the oppression of African American women. One of the main issues addressed by the two books is how black women are generally abused and not considered complete people with freedom, independence, and feelings. Other evident issues include the issue of feminism and masculinity, gender roles, the value of females in a marital relationship, and sexism. Lastly, the two successfully examine the plight of African American women, particularly in the 1920s.
Works Cited
hooks, bell. “Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism.” 1982. Web.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. 1937. E-book, PressBooks. Web.