Conflict of Gender Roles in Sula

Toni Morrison’s Sula uses the evolving duality of men and women to comment on the unjust gender roles that define men and women when a woman doesn’t uphold societies’ expectations of what is feminine there are consequences. In the book, there are many instances where women and men do stereotypical things like how they love, talk and act. These gender roles are set in stone from when they were born. It is also important to note that when a man or woman doesn’t do what society expects of them, they either get bashed for it or feel really guilty.

Societies expectations for a woman is to be vulnerable, soft spoken, and subissive to men; also a woman has to be with one man for the rest of her life (married), take care of the kids and household.

So for example, “Teapot’s Mamma got a lot of attention anyway and immersed herself in a role she had shown no inclination for: motherhood,” (page 114).

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Societies expectations for a man is to strong (mentally and physically), he needs to work so he can bring the money home, unsubmissive to women,it is okay to have multiple partners. For instance, “Ajax was very nice to his women, of course, he knew it, and it provokes them into murderous battles over him in the streets,” (page 125). The idea that these woman belong to Ajax reflects a stereotypical gender dynamic in which women are the property of men. The fact that the women fight each other instead of Ajax is also stereotypical.

Sula is the main character. She has many male partners in her adult life, just like her mom, but she doesn’t care. Everyone else is mad at Sula for being herself. By being herself, I mean she is sleeping with everyones’ husband, put her grandmother (that everyone knows) in a group home, and not caring what anyone thinks or says about her. If societies rules were real for women, Sula would be the biggest rule breaker. Even her grandma said she was, “Selfish. Ain’t no woman got not business floatin around without no man,” (page 92). In Eva’s eyes, one of Sula’s greatest flaws is that she rather walk around single. As a grandma, you are supposed to support your kids and grandkids, but Eva just enforced the stigma that women need men to be considered a “respctable woman”.

Nel is Sula’s best friend. She is the opppsite of Sula in their adult hood. Nel follows societies expectation of what it means to be a woman. She says it’s “Because each has discovered years before that they were neither white nor male, and all that freedom and triumph was forbidden to them, they had to set about creating something else,” (page 52). At a young age, Sula and Nel knew that being girls limit them in profund ways. The fact that they’ve internalized these limits at the age of 12 shows us how gender roles are encoded in society.

The duality between men and women become more present towards the main characters really learn their roles. In the beginning as children, Nel and Sula know they were limited because they were little black girls and their mothers showed them what it meant to be a woman in the bottom at a young age. “While Eva tested and argued with her men . . . Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful as he was,” (page 43). Even though Hannah takes a non-traditional approach to sex, she seems fairly traditional when it comes to her dynamic with men. As children, we aren’t supposed to be worried about what we can and can’t do because of what in between our legs. But because Nel and Sula realized they were going to be greatley oppressed because they are girls shows that gender roles are expressed heavily and little girls are the greatest victims.

Then when the girls get to be adults, they see what living in The Bottom really does to women and men. It defines them. They start to see that being a certain sex determines the amount of success you can have and the things you can do even if they make you happy. “You can’t do it all. You a woman and a colored woman at that. You can’t act like a man. You can’t be walking around all independent-like doing whatever you like, taking whatever you want, leaving what you don’t,” (page 142). This quote from Nel tells about both men and women. Sula is doubly oppressed because she is a woman of color and Nel sees men as greedy, selfish and careless. Judes’s leaving impacted her opinion greatly of men.

At the end of the story, Sula recognizes that she does not to be a ‘traditional woman’ because that is not what she wants to be no matter how much the people around her want her to be. When they are talking Nel tells Sula, “I always understood how you could take a man. Now I understand why you can’t keep none,” and Sula responds, “Is that what I’m supposed to do? Spend my life keeping a man? ‘They worth keeping Sula’ They ain’t worth more than me,” (page 143). Sula’s knowledge of her self-worth prevents her from succumbing to the pressures asscociated with her gender. This shows that her being a woman does not stop her from doing what she pleases. As women, just because they have male parts or a man, doesn’t mean they need to be held back from what you enjoy. Considering the dualities’ existence and importance in the lives of these characters we need to pay attention to how these characters deal with the gender roles that is being placed on them.

Toni Morrison’s Sula uses the evolving duality of men and women to comment on the unjust gender roles that define men and women when a woman doesn’t uphold societies’ expectations of what is feminine there are consequences. Showing kids what they are supposed to be limits them from what they can potentially be in their future. If a girl wants to play with toy cars because she wants to drive the most expensive one when she grows up then she should be allowed to do so. If a boy wants to help his mom cook and help his mother do her hair, then he should be allowed to do so.

Men and women are held to such defining standards and it is so normalized that we just live by these rules and don’t question them. Men are the main ones who engage with multiple women at the same time and are praised for it. However when a woman wants to engage with multiple men at the same time, even they’re just talking and doing nothing sexual, they are labled as “whores” and “unfit to be a wife”. They are doing the same thing as men. So next time we want to judge someone for doing something non-traditional to American values, let’s ask ourselves is it because of what they have between their legs?