Ta-Nehisi Coates asked ‘Is For Colored Girls a Classic’: My Response
Shange also resisted the notion that she glamorized Black women at the expense of Black men, and insisted that her treatment of Black women was neither glamorizing or uplifting but rather a reflection of how she viewed reality. Black men and some Black women were not accustomed to seeing Black women stand up for a Black autonomous feminism that questioned racism within White feminist movements but also went against sexism within Black society. Such a stance is central to Wallace’s and Shange’s writing, since they did not attack all Black men- only the ones who abuse and oppress women and those who let other men so without educating them to act otherwise.
In the essay, “Neither Fish Nor Fowl: The Crisis of African American Gender Relations” Michelle Wallace said that a significant aspect of the Black feminist work is to,
“get black scholars and intellectuals of Orlando Patterson’s superb caliber to think seriously and write publicly about Black gender relations.”
In many ways Wallace’s sentiments towards Patterson captures my sentiment’s toward Ta-Nehisi.
Given Ta-Nehisi’s ability to dig in deep on a topic, AND the audience and platform that he has, he could conceivably impact the tone and content of Black gender discourse in profound ways.
Some great books on Black gender politics (relationships between Black men and women) are When and Where I Enter by Paula Giddings, Black Macho and the Myth of the Super Woman by Michelle Wallace and Black Feminist Theory from Margin to Center by bell hooks.
- Do you think that For Colored Girls is a classic? Why or Why not?
- Would you need to learn more in order to say so?
- What is politically at stake when we discuss text we haven’t recently read?
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