Browsing by Author "Badaoui Mohamed Raouf - Bedghiou Nawel"

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    Feminism and conformity in Black Literature Revisiting Race, Gender, and Identity in Morrison’ The Bluest Eye
    (UNIVERSITY OF ABBES LAGHROUR-KHENCHELA, 2021) Badaoui Mohamed Raouf - Bedghiou Nawel
    ABSTRACT Published in 1970, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye tells the story of a black little girl who is destroyed by feelings of self-loathing and rejection from those around her. This work intends to analyze how the concepts of identity, race and gender are portrayed in the novel, and how they relate to issues of white beauty standards, self-loathing and racial pride. We propose that The Bluest Eye is a protest against the adoption of beauty as a positive and universal value, and that the novelist is suggesting the building of wholesome, healthy identities through the connection to the culture and tradition of a community instead of mere copycat, assimilation, and conformity to the dominant white community which leads to neglecting the sense of self that destroys any sign of identity for the African American people. In order to do that, we start by revisiting the concept of race, identity and gender. Then, we examine feminism and how it relates to the author as well as the characters within the novel. Finally, we explore how conformity wasn’t the solution to gain respect or acceptance of the white community. Our thesis reflects that instead of supporting the assimilation to the standardized beauty of whiteness, Toni Morrison suggests that the very concept of beauty is harmful and exclusionary. Instead of promoting just the idea that blackness be considered beautiful, the writer proposes that the valorization of African Americans should originate from placing importance on their culture, traditions and connection to the community.