Title: Malcolm X and the fair sex : representation of women in Malcolm X's autobiography
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2006, vol. 32, iss. 1, pp. [77]-85
Extent
[77]-85
-
ISSN1211-1791
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/104084
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This paper discusses the attitudes of Malcolm X towards women as they are mirrored in his autobiography (written in cooperation with a renowned African American writer, Alex Haley) from 1965. It explores the extent to which the public image of Malcolm X's gender stance that we get from his political speeches and pronouncements is comparable to the one brought about by his life story. Malcolm X's comments on women in The Autobiography can be divided into two groups – general remarks about women and depictions of particular women from X's life. The first set of Malcolm X's observations on the fair sex is explicitly misogynist and thus in accordance with his public persona's nationalist politics. Even if the second group of comments – that linked with X's mother, sister, wife and two girlfriends from his pre-conversion period – reflects more complexity and ambiguity, it still unfortunately does not fully succeed in overcoming the limits of binary and prejudicial thinking regarding females.
References
[1] Clasby, Nancy (1974) 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X: A Mythic Paradigm'. Journal of Black Studies 5.1: 18–34. JSTOR21 Nov. 2003 http://www.jstor.org/search. | DOI 10.1177/002193477400500102
[2] Collins, Patricia Hill (1992) 'Learning to Think for Ourselves: Malcolm X's Black Nationalism Reconsidered'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 59–85.
[3] Davis, Angela Y. (1992) 'Meditations on the Legacy of Malcolm X'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 36–47.
[4] Dyson, Michael Eric (1995) Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. New York: Oxford University Press.
[5] Dyson, Michael Eric (1996) 'Inventing and Interpreting Malcolm X'. In: Rhiel, Mary and Suchoff, David (eds) The Seductions of Biography. New York: Routledge, 43–53.
[6] Griffin, Farah Jasmine (2001) 'Ironies of the Saint: Malcolm X, Black Women, and the Price of Protection' In: Collier-Thomas, Bettye and Franklin, V.P. (eds) Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement. New York: New York University Press, 214–29.
[7] hooks, bell (1990) 'Sitting at the Feet of the Messenger: Remembering Malcolm X' . Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. Boston: South End Press, 79–87.
[8] Kelley, Robin D. G. (1992) 'The Riddle of the Zoot: Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics During World War II'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 155–82.
[9] Locke, Mamie (2002) 'Malcolm X and the Role of Women'. In: Jenkins, Robert L. (ed.) The Malcolm X Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 23–25.
[10] Malcolm X (and Alex Haley) (1968) The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 1965. London: Penguin.
[11] Oliver, Terri Hume (2002) 'Prison, Perversion, and Pimps: The White Temptress in The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Iceberg Slim's Pimp'. In: Najmi, Samina and Srikanth, Rajini (eds) White Women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature. Albany: State University of New York Press, 147–65.
[12] Quashie, Kevin Everod (1999) 'Black Feminism and The Autobiography of Malcolm X'. Journal X 4.1: 41–70.
[13] Rampersad, Arnold (1992) 'The Color of His Eyes: Bruce Perry's Malcolm and Malcolm's Malcolm'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 117–34.
[14] Sartwell, Crispin (1998) Act Like You Know: African-American Autobiography & White Identity. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
[15] Sekora, John (1987) 'Black Message/White Envelope: Genre, Authenticity, and Authority in the Antebellum Slave Narrative'. Callaloo 32: 482–515. JSTOR, 2 Feb. 2005 http://www.jstor.org/search.
[16] Wideman, John Edgar (1992) 'Malcolm X: The Art of Autobiography'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 101–16.
[17] Wolfenstein, Eugene Victor (1998) 'Reflections on Malcolm X and Black Feminism'. Journal for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society 3.2: 41–59.
[2] Collins, Patricia Hill (1992) 'Learning to Think for Ourselves: Malcolm X's Black Nationalism Reconsidered'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 59–85.
[3] Davis, Angela Y. (1992) 'Meditations on the Legacy of Malcolm X'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 36–47.
[4] Dyson, Michael Eric (1995) Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. New York: Oxford University Press.
[5] Dyson, Michael Eric (1996) 'Inventing and Interpreting Malcolm X'. In: Rhiel, Mary and Suchoff, David (eds) The Seductions of Biography. New York: Routledge, 43–53.
[6] Griffin, Farah Jasmine (2001) 'Ironies of the Saint: Malcolm X, Black Women, and the Price of Protection' In: Collier-Thomas, Bettye and Franklin, V.P. (eds) Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement. New York: New York University Press, 214–29.
[7] hooks, bell (1990) 'Sitting at the Feet of the Messenger: Remembering Malcolm X' . Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. Boston: South End Press, 79–87.
[8] Kelley, Robin D. G. (1992) 'The Riddle of the Zoot: Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics During World War II'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 155–82.
[9] Locke, Mamie (2002) 'Malcolm X and the Role of Women'. In: Jenkins, Robert L. (ed.) The Malcolm X Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 23–25.
[10] Malcolm X (and Alex Haley) (1968) The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 1965. London: Penguin.
[11] Oliver, Terri Hume (2002) 'Prison, Perversion, and Pimps: The White Temptress in The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Iceberg Slim's Pimp'. In: Najmi, Samina and Srikanth, Rajini (eds) White Women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature. Albany: State University of New York Press, 147–65.
[12] Quashie, Kevin Everod (1999) 'Black Feminism and The Autobiography of Malcolm X'. Journal X 4.1: 41–70.
[13] Rampersad, Arnold (1992) 'The Color of His Eyes: Bruce Perry's Malcolm and Malcolm's Malcolm'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 117–34.
[14] Sartwell, Crispin (1998) Act Like You Know: African-American Autobiography & White Identity. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
[15] Sekora, John (1987) 'Black Message/White Envelope: Genre, Authenticity, and Authority in the Antebellum Slave Narrative'. Callaloo 32: 482–515. JSTOR, 2 Feb. 2005 http://www.jstor.org/search.
[16] Wideman, John Edgar (1992) 'Malcolm X: The Art of Autobiography'. In: Wood, Joe (ed.) Malcolm X in Our Own Image. New York: St. Martin's Press, 101–16.
[17] Wolfenstein, Eugene Victor (1998) 'Reflections on Malcolm X and Black Feminism'. Journal for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society 3.2: 41–59.