She always refers to herself as “ugly”, which does not fulfill society’s standards of being a woman. As for the aspect of beauty, Maya emphasizes the vital importance of possessing this quality. The fact that the girls were not even mentioned demonstrates the enforcement of sexual ideals and gender inequality in society. In this quote, Maya summarizes the guest speaker’s speech, which outlines the potential expected occupations of the students. Maya states, “The white kids were going to have a chance to be…, and our boys (the girls weren’t even in on it), would try to be…” (Angelou, 179). We see this in the book during Maya’s graduation with the guest speaker. Moreover, certain beauty aspects were also associated with the portrayal of women during that time.Īll around Maya, there seem to be restricted stereotypes portrayed against women in society. The roles that were associated with women were typical roles of being a housewife where cooking, cleaning, and raising children are the expected daily tasks. During this time, women were represented poorly and men were thought to be as more superior and powerful due to the patriarch social system. As we know, this book illustrates the life of a young black woman in various parts of America during the era of the Great Depression and World War II. Image by: As I was wrapping up my reading, I was exposed to the perception of women as well as the feminist aspects associated with women during the time that the book was written.
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