University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Motherhood Aesthetic in Contemporary Black American Plays

Rogers, La Tanya L. Reese; Walker, Tanya E.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127763

Description

Title
The Motherhood Aesthetic in Contemporary Black American Plays
Author(s)
  • Rogers, La Tanya L. Reese
  • Walker, Tanya E.
Issue Date
2025-04-08
Keyword(s)
  • Motherhood
  • Dramatic Aesthetic
  • Black Women
  • Contemporary plays
Date of Ingest
2025-04-14T13:15:02-05:00
Abstract
This collection introduces the "Black female Motherhood Aesthetic," a theory revealing the complexities of Black motherhood in contemporary America. Through an interpretation of plays written by Black female playwrights Suzan-Lori Parks, Cheryl West, Aishah Rahman, Dael Orlandersmith, and Velina Hasu Houston, the authors define the aesthetic to showcase the full humanity of Black women, exploring Black women's self-determination, trauma, bravery, and joy. These playwrights engage in "response writing," allowing their characters to address their lived experiences. Issues like skin-color marginalization, intersectional identity, and family dislocation are reexamined. This aesthetic challenges past portrayals of the idealized Black family, presenting diverse and realistic representations of motherhood. It affirms that Black families are not homogenous, but multifaceted, reflecting the varied realities of Black women's lives. This title was peer reviewed with a single-blind process by the AFRO-PWW editorial board. Please cite this book using the DOI: 10.21900/pww.29.
Publisher
Illinois Open Publishing Network
Type of Resource
  • text
  • still image
Genre of Resource
book
Language
eng
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21900/pww.29
Copyright and License Information
Copyright (c) 2025 La Tanya L. Reese Rogers and Tanya E. Walker. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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