Abstract
In Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation, Trimiko Melancon weaves an insightful, critical analysis of discourses and literary representations of black women in novels by Gayl Jones, Gloria Naylor, Toni Morrison, Ann Allen Shockley, and Alice Walker. Melancon’s central argument is that through depictions of transgressive sexuality, the novels defy traditional race, gender, and sexual representations of black women present in American literature. She smartly interprets expressions of black women’s agency and resistance to white mainstream and Black Nationalist expectations.
Melancon draws from literary theory and criticism, critical race, black feminist, gender and sexuality theories, and performance theories, to analyze the discourses and sociopolitical contexts of several novels. She begins by exploring tropes and scripts that circumscribe black womanhood. Notably, Melancon identifies the “classical black female script” as a “set of ascribed roles governing what constituted ‘good,’ acceptable, and appropriate black womanhood in relations to racial advancement and nation building” (p. 49). Behavioral expectations related to this script are marked by “black women’s expected racial loyalty and solidarity, sexual fidelity to black men, self abnegation, and idealization of marriage and motherhood” (p. 3). The rest of the book explores how the novels depict transgressive black womanhood in light of racial, sexual, and gender expectations facing black women. Melancon presents in-depth, literary analysis of the characters’ sexual behaviors, decision making, and intimate partner relationships.
Over the course of five chapters, Melancon analyzes how Toni Morrison’s Sula, Ann Allen Shockley’s Loving Her, Alice Walker’s Meridian, Gayl Jones’s Eva’s Man, and Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place and contemporary images of Michelle Obama present transgressive representations of black women’s sexuality. Melancon first argues that in Toni Morrison’s Sula various characters resist the classical black female script. In chapter two, the author examines interracial, same-sex loving of a black woman main character in Ann Allen Shockley’s Loving Her. Melancon argues that the book challenges dominant and Black Nationalist notions of family and love. In chapter three, she explores how Alice Walker demonstrates that black women can resist classical expectations of black womanhood and motherhood within their personal lives and be committed to black community. In chapter four, Melancon looks at violence, sexuality, and psychology in Gayl Jones’s Eva’s Man and argues that the main character’s mindset and madness represent acts of transgression. Later in chapter five, Melancon looks at the diversity in black women’s experiences and community in Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place. She argues that The Women of Brewster Place provides a space for readers to consider the role of solidarity in how black women experience their sexualities. In the final chapter of the book, Melancon examines contemporary representations of Michelle Obama and black women.
Unbought and Unbossed is an insightful, organized book. Melancon offers a compelling analysis of the historical contexts, political discourses, and tropes that influence representations of black womanhood. The book challenges readers to consider transgressive sexuality as a critical component of black women’s agency. Literary scholars, sociologists, gender, and race researchers in other fields can use Melancon’s interpretations as templates to theorize and examine black women’s narratives, both fiction and nonfiction. In particular, the term “classical black female script” is a useful concept to describe tropes of historical and contemporary black womanhood. The book’s interdisciplinary approach is a real strength. However, the author uses several words and phrases that are discipline-specific. Readers unfamiliar with literary studies may find the word-choice challenging. Nevertheless, the analysis and theoretical grounding are strong and persuasive.
Unbought and Unbossed is an important text for people interested in race, gender, sexuality, and intersectionality. The book opens up new ways to consider the transgressive sexuality of black women within works of literature. In addition, reading the book could enhance the analytical toolkits of scholars in various disciplines looking for ways to make sense of transgressive sexuality, particularly among black women. For instance, social science scholars can use themes of transgressive sexuality identified in the book to critically explore the nonfiction life narratives of black women. Important questions to consider include the following: How do acts of transgressive sexuality differ based on women’s class background, geographic location, age, ability, and other social identities? How do the imagined sexualities profiled in the book map onto the contemporary life experiences of black women? Unbought and Unbossed is also an important text for upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate-level courses in literary studies, sociology, and interdisciplinary courses focused on issues of race, gender, or sexuality.