A Study Of Female Objectification Tendencies In How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Afro-American women's literature makes great contributions to American literature and it has turned into an indispensible part to further understand American literature.In 1990 s,the younger generation of writers mainly focuses on the middle-class black women living in the city,showing their life and inner world.Their works truly reflect the voice of contemporary black women and thus resonate with the female readers,which has promoted the further development of African-American women's literature.Terry McMillan is a representative writer.Based on How Stella Got Her Groove Back,this thesis analyzes the manifestations of female objectification tendencies,female characters' different reactions to the objectification tendencies and the heroine's methods to resist objectification tendencies.It is made up of 3 parts: introduction,four chapters and conclusion.Introduction presents Terry McMillan,How Stella Got Her Groove Back and shows the development of researches based on her works.Chapter one makes a thorough study of Objectification Theory and points out the connection between the theory and black women's life.Chapter Two analyzes the manifestations of female objectification tendencies in the novel.Chapter Three explores female characters' different reactions about the objectification tendencies.Chapter Four discusses Stella's ways to resist objectification tendencies.Through the description of black women's reactions towards their objectification tendencies when they are treated like objects,McMillan shows that even a middle-class black woman who is both economically and spiritually independent is still in danger of being objectified.She points out that only by spontaneously resisting the object position can women become the subject with humanity and personality.