| Although their specific histories have been different, African American, Mexican American, and Japanese American women have shared the experience of having their identities imposed on them by stereotypic images constructed by the dominant culture and at times supported by their own ethnic communities. Consequently, the three groups share the common goals of resisting imposed ethnic and gender stereotypes and negotiating an assumed, complex ethnic and gender identity. My study first delineates the historical origins and trajectories of two ethnic and gender stereotypes for African, Mexican, and Japanese American women. It then examines the effectiveness of the narrative strategies that six non-white ethnic authors employ to contest these stereotypes and to assert culturally informed and internally negotiated identities on the basis of complexity, creativity, and authenticity. The authors and texts that will be the focus of this investigation are Kristin Hunter's God Bless the Child, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, Monica Sone's Nisei Daughter, Ana Castillo's The Mixquiahuala Letters, Toni Morrison's Jazz, and Cynthia Kadohata's The Floating World. |
