The poem “Homage to my hips” by Clifton is a tribute to the speaker’s physique and womanhood, with a particular emphasis on her ample hips. These, according to the speaker, want a place in modern society, reject being confined, and have never been enslaved. The poem is also a glorification of Black femininity in general, linking the speaker’s self-assurance and desire for dignity to independence and freedom in the presence of persecution. This work was written to analyze the poem and how the speaker presents it.
The speaker argues that her hips are enormous and that she needs much room to move around since they cannot even fit in little, neglected spaces. Her hips, she claims, are liberated, and they despise anything that may limit that freedom or constrain them. They have always been absolutely independent, going wherever and doing whatever they want. They are captivating, even mystical, according to the speaker. She is well aware that her hips are capable of lulling a guy into a daze and whirling him around like a spinning.
At first look, the poem seems to be very basic; Clifton is so unconcerned about capitalizations, metaphors, fancy language, and full stops that are fraught with significance that he does not bother with them. The body ideal had only begun to move from the smooth and soft curves of 1970s dance queens to the leggy and athletic Amazonian sizes of 1980s fashion models at this time (Cengage Learning & Gale, 2017). The poet understands what she wants to convey and addresses her audience straight. She does not allow for debate or even the prospect of debate.
Nothing little or petty will be tolerated by this speaker. The significant posterior influences her to perceive the entire world as a massive chance to do things, to maneuver around like a powerful, vital force. She sees life as being full of room for all things gigantic, which she finds to be a lovely thing. Lesser hips and brains may just move out of her path. She will cram her large hips into any space that will fit them. She will not be held captive by the mediocre wits. Her hips will never be restrained; they will move when and where they want to.
This is the lady that every woman aspires to be: confident, eloquent, and truthful to herself. She is well aware that there are many categories that others would want to apply to her. People learn two factors when she does so: the speaker is fully aware of societal problems with female body ideals, and the speaker does not give a damn about them. People had no better image of her hips than that at the conclusion of the poem. They do get many explanations of how her hips movement in the world – how they are strong, incredible, and even attractive when she wishes them to be. In other respects, the speaker is more concerned with how her hips act than with how they seem.
Finally, Clifton highlights the power that women have over their male partners to bring the poem to a conclusion. Clifton understands that while the guy is always in charge, women can always use him to obtain or do anything they want. Despite its lightness, Clifton’s powerful use of imagery in the language in this poem demonstrates to the audience how a woman may be empowered by something as simple as her hips.
Reference
Cengage Learning Gale, & Gale, C. L. (2017). A study guide for Lucille Clifton’s “Homage to my hips.” Van Duuren Media.