“an occasional appearance by maria tallchief/ the native american prima ballerina close to my heart/ cuz we were not only colored by lumbee/ cherokee and blackfoot/” (shange, 52). The Native American ballerina on television showed a young Shange the multiplicity of colored people. The ballerina defied notions that racially marked individuals were no more than just one monolithic group.
“Unexamined assumptions: First, that a “natural” mother is a person without further identity, one who can find her chief gratification in being all day with small children, living at a pace tuned to theirs; that the isolation of mothers and children together in the home must be taken for granted; that maternal love is, and should be, quite literally selfless; that children and mothers are the ‘causes’ of each others’ suffering.”
This quote resonated with me because it highlights an idea that I know I have internalized: the expectation that to be a mother, a woman must give up her self, her personhood, to her child. For many years I committed against my mother the injustice of believing this. My mother loves me and has always wanted to give me everything I wanted and needed. As a result, her love and the pressure to be “the perfect mother” (whatever that even means) overwhelmed her. Read More
What a beautiful group!
I want to thank you all for bringing such wonderful energy and insightful questions to the events this week. I was regretting that we really hadn’t had time to bond before Zake’s visit, but now we’ve had, I think, a transformative experience. Re the blog: This is a “free” week. Which is to say, I’m not requiring one, but you will want to write one 1). If you joined the class late 2). to give yourself some wiggle room if you need to miss one later Read More
