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

Authors : Hüseyin Altındiş

Pages : 331-348

Doi:10.47777/cankujhss.1672451

View : 223 | Download : 943

Publication Date : 2025-12-29

Article Type : Research Paper

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

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