THEME 3--Your Blues Ain't Like Mine: GENDER ROLES
How are GENDER ROLES explored in the work? Consider the following elements for possible discussion:
- Roles
- Expectations
- Realities
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I found the white gender roles in comparison to black gender roles interesting. A white woman is made to listen and at this time period she wasn't doing the house work either. White women were sort of put on this pedastel. Now black women took care of the home as well as being enslaved socially. I suppose black and white men share similar roles in terms of protection. How each is able to protect varies greatly. The white man has the black killed. The black man pays the price for his family is possible. (Jess Boothman)
ReplyDeleteKe'Asia H.
ReplyDeleteI believe Jake has a lot of built up animosity and anger towards Armstrong, because Armstrong he appears to be "better" than him. This jealousy causes him to be against his own people. I feel that Jake wishes everyone would look up to him as they do Armstrong. How could a young boy get so much more credibility and attention than he ever has by his own people? The only feeling of that, that he has ever gotten was from the white pool hall owner, and this only being because he "snitched" on everyone else. Jake's expectations of who should be treated in a certain way is far from his reality that he does not want to accept. It is what it is.
There is no wonder that there is conflict between some white and black women. They have many unresolved issues surrounding the issue of race and sexuality. Buried inside of some white women may be hatred toward black women because of their white men. During slavery while some white men regarded blacks as animals, they forced black women to have sex with them. Probably those white women was confused about what their men were doing. Those perplexed ladies may have felt betrayed knowing that their white men were desiring and lusting after those black women who they treated like animals. Just like lily, white women blind themselves to their own pain to continue to enjoy a racially priviledged society. Although white women's complexion may elevate them over non-whites in our social and legal structure, their gender may keep them singing the "blues."
ReplyDeleteAnne Marie B.
In Bebe Moore Campbell’s novel, Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine, the characters abide by strict gender roles. The course of the novel begins in the 1950’s when gender roles were generally upheld, as the text progress we also see a change in gender roles and these roles being upheld.
ReplyDeleteThe women in the novel are expected to act like ladies and respect men. For example, after Lily went into the pool hall Floyd reprimanded her, “’I thought I told you not to go in there,’”. Lily’s violation of her gender role was immediately regarded as an act of disobedience. In this instance we also see the role of males in the novel. Floyd has an apparent role as a dictator and punishes Lily by slapping and reprimanding her for disobeying him.
Throughout the text we see many similar examples where there are expectations of each gender and what their role should be. We also see violation of these expectations and norms. A violation of these expectations is also expresses among the differences in Lily and Doreen. Doreen does not abide by the common gender roles of white women, by working on the plantation she breaks these expectations and gender roles.
Katherine Lawrence