In this novel written by Maya Angelou, she speaks of many things that happened in her life, including the severe sexism she suffered.
From the time she was very young, Maya had many challenges with sexism thrown her way. She was always expected to just be a home woman, working in the house, taking care of future children; a trophy wife if you will. s she grew up she was constantly insulted for her looks and told that she was lucky she was smart because she’d never be attractive to make her living the way most women do; by relying on a man.
When Maya was eight, she was raped, and told by the judge that she must’ve been lying because she didn’t remember what he was wearing. She was told that he must’ve been seduced by her, and she felt as though they were accusing her of being the one who’d raped him.
When she went mute after the rape, her uncles would beat her for “ignoring them” as they took it as a sign of disrespect. They believed that a woman should answer a man any time he addresses her.
When she was a teenager, her male peers regarded her as only an object, a second class one at that, to sleep with in case the pretty girls wanted nothing to do with them. Maya wasn’t really one for that though, and didn’t care at all until she was concerned that she might’ve been a lesbian. She then chose to have intercourse, and ended up pregnant from it. She kept the pregnancy secret, and went through the whole thing alone, as she knew she’d be forced to give up her education and devote her life to her child, as is expected of a mother. She ended up having to raise her son as a single mother, as the father was able to dip out and say he didn’t want any part of the child’s life.
Despite all the sexism and many other awful things she endured, Maya succeeded in life anyways and forged through, creating a fantastic life for herself and her son. She became a famous dancer, poet, and author, and passed peacefully in 2014.
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