The professor structured the course around How to Suppress Women’s Writing, Joanna Russ’s study of the many ways that women’s literary contributions have been denigrated. I encountered The Bluest Eye in a women’s literature class. Perhaps more important, knowing that truth keeps me from believing the nation’s lies. Operating as if I don’t know that is foolish. As a Black woman in the United States, it’s always best to act like I know that this is a racist, sexist, heterosexist society.
Growing up, my mom would often say, “Girl, you better act like you know.” I could now appreciate the wisdom of those words. Because we were college students enjoying freedom from parents, gender and race often intensified dorm room debates about issues of sexuality, but tensions also ran high in classes-when discussion centered on seemingly staid matters, such as merit.Ĭompared to the obliviousness that preceded it, I gained super-vision after reading The Bluest Eye that would help me navigate this racist, sexist world. Once Morrison’s work opened my eyes, I began noticing how frequently people tried to make me prioritize either race or gender whenever things got intense. When I encountered Morrison’s debut novel, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, I was at a point in my life where I had reluctantly admitted to myself that race would always matter, but I had not awakened to how gender was shaping my experiences. Okay, maybe it’s not that simple, but it’s pretty close. I am a literature professor because when I was 18 years old and in my first year of college, I read Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
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