Intersectionality and identity and politics in Alice Walker’s The color purple (1982) and Kiley Reid’s such a fun age (2019)
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Date
2025
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Université Mouloud Mammeri Tizi Ouzou
Abstract
This dissertation has attempted a comparative study of The color purple (1982)
by AliceWalker and Such a fun age (2019) by Kiley Reid, through the lenses of
Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality and Patricia Hill Collins’ Black
feminist thought (1990). The first chapter has relied on Crenshaw’s
intersectional theory in its three overlapping layers to analyze the complex
intertwinement of race, gender, and class as they manifest in Walker and Reid’s
novels. The chapter has highlighted how intersectional barriers limit Black
women’s prospects and access to professional opportunities and personal
freedom. The second chapter has drawn from Collins’ work to examine how
Black women in both novels resist dominant stereotypes and seek to reclaim
and assert their identities through silence, community, and artistic expression.
Ultimately, this study has shown that despite their differences in form and
historical periods, both novels has portrayed Black women’s struggle for selfdefinition
in environments structured to misrepresent them. The intersectional
analysis of the works has therefore not only bridged the historical gap between
the two works, but has also revealed the complexity and resilience of Black
women through time.
Description
59p. ; (+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Intersectionality, racism, sexism, Such a fun age, The color purple
Citation
General and Comparative Literature