Self, Sexuality And Gender

As an African American author, Morrison is a double outsider in the patriarchal, white culture—a position which allows her to criticize both the white and the black worlds. Although Morrison may not have been consciously working out her novels within the particular framework of queer theories, it is highly unlikely she would have been unaffected by these movements, especially when one considers Morrison's interest in gender roles and in opposing the hegemony.Queer theory is not to blazon forth homosexuality and deny heterosexuality as somebody miscomprehends. Their ultimate aim is to criticize traditional male discourse hegemony and create a peaceful and harmonious social atmosphere. In Sula, Toni Morrison challenges the assumptions upon which many of our beliefs concerning gender are built, especially the notion that gender identification is innate, positioned at birth, and unchallengeable. Morrison's strong connections with queer theory presented in that, in the novel Sula, the two protagonists learn that they must lead their own development, rejecting the either/or, male/female dichotomies. The sexual relations with men are just a way of relieving her feelings, a position where Sula feels her self. When she is searching for the power of sexuality, she is not finding a partner; rather she is seeking another self.