You have read several texts that deal with impact of gender and racial stereotypes. As part of an “American grammar” that we acquire to articulate ourselves into the social, we use stereotypes to shape our identity. We learn, from a very young age, what is and is not appropriate for little girls and boys. We also learn, consciously or not, that bodies are gendered differently according to where they fit into a specific American taxonomy of race. For this paper, analyze two texts and how they represent the difficulty of navigating this minefield of gender construction.

Two of these texts:

Zora Neale Hurston’s – Their Eyes Were Watching God

Octavia Butler’s – Kindred

Toni Cade Bambara – Gorilla My Love

Neil Larsen’s – Passing

Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin In The Sun (screenplay)

You have read several texts that deal with impact of gender and racial stereotypes. As part of an “American grammar” that we acquire to articulate ourselves into the social, we use stereotypes to shape our identity. We learn, from a very young age, what is and is not appropriate for little girls and boys. We also learn, consciously or not, that bodies are gendered differently according to where they fit into a specific American taxonomy of race. For this paper, analyze two texts and how they represent the difficulty of navigating this minefield of gender construction.

Two of these texts:

Zora Neale Hurston’s – Their Eyes Were Watching God

Octavia Butler’s – Kindred

Toni Cade Bambara – Gorilla My Love

Neil Larsen’s – Passing

Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin In The Sun (screenplay)