Zami and Rubyfruit Jungle: The two books have several striking similarities, so many that my head started mixing up the stories because I was reading both simultaneously. One, they are both sort of set in the Village (they are both set at least partly in New York, and much of the maturing of the lead characters happens there). Two, they are both about women who were somehow on the margins of the mainstream in terms of identity, aside from the fact that they were gay (Audre was “Black”, while Molly was adopted and a “bastard”). Third, the protagonists of both books were very intelligent girls at school, but then their lives got messed up. Fourth, they both had early almost-sexual experiences with female friends. Fifth, both had sexual relations with men, multiple times. Sixth, both talk about unsafe abortions. Seventh, both talk, in an almost Freudian sense, about mothers in rather sexual tones (Zami, explicitly so).
Anyone else notice any more similarities? Also, why are there so many similarities to their stories? Does it have to simply do with being lesbian during a certain period, and that I might find these same similarities if I were to read other lesbian-related books from corresponding periods, or is there more to it? There are differences, certainly, but the similarities are so striking, and almost perplexing (because what these two protagonists have in common is so different from my own experience or those of other girls close to me -- though that might have to with differences of culture/time period).
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Zami
For some reason the Devanagari font conversion is stuck on for my blog...how odd. Anyway, I have started Zami just a little bit and am already entranced. I've read a few articles by Lorde before and weren't necessarily as into them - in paraticular, I wrote a piece for Dana's Context for the Study of Sexuality class on how her piece, "The Uses of the Erotic," came across a little bit too my-way-or-the-highway for me, which is actually somewhat ironic(/way off) now that I'm exploring her "difference theory" in this book.
I'm actually presently sitting at work waiting for everyone else (re: anyone else) to arrive and thought I would check in here...so I'm not staring at my notes, but a couple of things that I think are worth exploring in conversation are as follows:
1~ How young Audre's vision impairment is written in. I personally didn't even realize that she was legally blind until she talks about getting glasses the first time and I don't know if that was just me not picking up on something before then or if it was intentional like she didn't know she was blind until she could see. It also would seem to have some bearing on her racial self-understanding. That is to say, what is Blackness without sight? I'm not positing an answer at all....just putting it out there. I think it's also interesting because I guess, even though it's not explicitly stated, that the reason she couldn't tell that people were spitting on her because of her race (and she was able to believe her mother's story about people just spitting into the wind) had to do with her disability
2~ How her being Carribean is an element of her Black American experience. I know that I've heard other people deploy what may be stereotypes about Carribean and African immigrants being somewhat separated from the African-American community, but I don't know how that my different in this time period or if that is true at all. It is an interesting point of examination though.
3~ The sexual charge in the scene where she meets her first playmate. I loved it, and it makes me want to go back and reread "The Uses of the Erotic" along with that passage. Also, it was extremely hot, I must say...
I have loads more stuff but now my boss has entered
I'm actually presently sitting at work waiting for everyone else (re: anyone else) to arrive and thought I would check in here...so I'm not staring at my notes, but a couple of things that I think are worth exploring in conversation are as follows:
1~ How young Audre's vision impairment is written in. I personally didn't even realize that she was legally blind until she talks about getting glasses the first time and I don't know if that was just me not picking up on something before then or if it was intentional like she didn't know she was blind until she could see. It also would seem to have some bearing on her racial self-understanding. That is to say, what is Blackness without sight? I'm not positing an answer at all....just putting it out there. I think it's also interesting because I guess, even though it's not explicitly stated, that the reason she couldn't tell that people were spitting on her because of her race (and she was able to believe her mother's story about people just spitting into the wind) had to do with her disability
2~ How her being Carribean is an element of her Black American experience. I know that I've heard other people deploy what may be stereotypes about Carribean and African immigrants being somewhat separated from the African-American community, but I don't know how that my different in this time period or if that is true at all. It is an interesting point of examination though.
3~ The sexual charge in the scene where she meets her first playmate. I loved it, and it makes me want to go back and reread "The Uses of the Erotic" along with that passage. Also, it was extremely hot, I must say...
I have loads more stuff but now my boss has entered
Friday, May 16, 2008
Rubyfruit Jungle
Has anyone else picked up Rubyfruit Jungle yet? I am about 3/4 of the way through it and I am having a hard time putting it down. I won't give anything away, but I'm not sure if I like it so much because I relate to it or if it is more universally relatable than I realize. I'd be interested to hear what you all think and if anyone else connects with the protagonist.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)