Summary of Melissa V. Harris-Perry's Sister Citizen

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The struggle many black women face is to figure out which way is up in a crooked room full of warped images of their humanity. Some black women tilt and bend themselves to fit the distortion.

#2 The play, For Colored Girls, was first produced Off-Broadway in 1975. It has sold more than a hundred thousand copies. It is a definitive artistic, visual, and poetic representation of the experience of the crooked room.

#3 The struggle of black women to stand upright in a crooked world is a major theme in Shange’s work. It is not just about victimization, but also about love, passion, exploration, joy, music, and dance.

#4 The women in the focus groups identified three stereotypes of black women: Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire. They were either oversexed or asexual, and their roles were to be either promiscuous or asexual.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822504844

IRB Media

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Insights on Melissa V. Harris-Perry's Sister Citizen

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The struggle many black women face is to figure out which way is up in a crooked room full of warped images of their humanity. Some black women tilt and bend themselves to fit the distortion.

#2

The play, For Colored Girls, was first produced Off-Broadway in 1975. It has sold more than a hundred thousand copies. It is a definitive artistic, visual, and poetic representation of the experience of the crooked room.

#3

The struggle of black women to stand upright in a crooked world is a major theme in Shange’s work. It is not just about victimization, but also about love, passion, exploration, joy, music, and dance.

#4

The women in the focus groups identified three stereotypes of black women: Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire. They were either oversexed or asexual, and their roles were to be either promiscuous or asexual.

#5

The women in my focus groups offered me insight into the recurring stereotypes that influence how others see them: hypersexuality, Mammy, and emasculating anger. They explained how they attempt to stand upright in a room made crooked by these stereotypes.

#6

African American women’s struggle with the slanted images of the crooked room is a problem of recognition. Recognition is a core feature of the relationship between citizens and the state.

#7

The public sphere is the place where people can be recognized for who they are. People are willing to contribute to the public realm because it offers them a chance to be seen and recognized as unique individuals.

#8

The need for privacy creates another dilemma for black women. Because of their history as chattel slaves, their labor market participation as domestic workers, and their role as dependents in a punitive modern welfare state, black women in America live under heightened scrutiny by the state.

#9

The crooked room is a reference to the misrecognition experienced by black women who attempt to participate in the public sphere. While it is true that humans do not have a true self that is either recognized or not, individuals become who they are as a result of being seen.

#10

The recognition framework brings to light the emotional