Black Sisterhood and Intersectionality in Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place

Abstract

Using intersectionality as a critical framework and praxis, this paper aims to analyze how multiple systems of oppression—what Patricia Hill Collins calls the “matrix of domination”—including racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia—shape the lived experiences of seven Black women characters within the urban landscape of Brewster Place in Gloria Naylor’s novel, The Women of Brewster Place (1982). This study illuminates how Naylor’s characters navigate the complex matrix of domination that controls, dominates, and shapes their lives. Though there are seven Black women in the novel, the analysis pays particular attention to Kiswana Browne and The Two (Theresa and Lorraine) and discusses how the characters’ intersecting identities influence their access to resources, their relationships with one another, and their strategies of resistance. Drawing on intersectional frameworks developed by Patricia Hill Collins (2019), Vivian M. May (2015), and Sırma Bilge (2013), this paper demonstrates how Naylor’s narrative foresees key concepts in intersectional theory, including Collins’ concepts of the simultaneity of oppression, the importance of standpoint epistemology, and the role of collective resistance.

Keywords

• Intersectionality
• black feminism
• injustice
• race
• epistemology
• praxis

Thanks

This article is a revised version of the paper presented at the 17th International IDEA Conference on 7-8-9 May 2025, at Fırat University, Elazığ, Türkiye.

Gloria Naylor’un The Women of Brewster Place Romanında Siyahi Kız Kardeşlik ve Kesişimsellik

Abstract

Kesişimselliği eleştirel bir çerçeve ve uygulama alanı olarak kullanan bu makale, Patricia Hill Collins’in “tahakküm matriksi” olarak adlandırdığı—ırkçılık, cinsiyetçilik, sınıfçılık ve homofobiyi içeren—çoklu baskı sistemlerinin, Gloria Naylor’ın The Women of Brewster Place adlı romanındaki Brewster Place apartmanında yaşayan yedi Siyahi kadın karakterin deneyimlerini nasıl şekillendirdiğini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, Naylor’ın karakterlerinin hayatlarını kontrol eden, yöneten ve şekillendiren karmaşık tahakküm matriksinde direnme ve meydan okuma yoluyla yönlerini nasıl bulduklarını açıklamaktadır. Romanda yedi siyahi kadın olmasına rağmen, analiz özellikle Kiswana Browne ve İkili’ye (Theresa ve Lorraine) odaklanır ve karakterlerin kesişen kimliklerinin kaynaklara erişimlerini, birbirleriyle ilişkilerini ve direniş stratejilerini nasıl etkilediğini tartışmaktadır. Patricia Hill Collins (2019), Vivian M. May (2015) ve Sirma Bilge’nin (2013) geliştirmiş oldukları Kesişimsellik kuramından yola çıkarak, bu çalışma, Naylor’ın anlatısının kesişimsel teorideki baskının eşzamanlılığı, duruş epistemolojisinin önemi ve kolektif direnişin rolü gibi temel kavramları nasıl öngördüğünü göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Kesişimsellik
• siyah feminism
• adaletsizlik
• ırk
• epistemoloji
• praksis

Thanks

This article is a revised version of the paper presented at the 17th International IDEA Conference on 7-8-9 May 2025, at Fırat University, Elazığ, Türkiye.

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