PERFORMING RESISTANCE: QUEER PERFORMATIVITY AND EMBODIED DEFIANCE IN AFRO-AMERICAN FICTION

Abstract

The article explores how queer performativity is used as a resistance by Afro-American literature by making a comparative analysis between The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. Although the current literature has thoroughly explored issues of race, gender, and historical trauma in these books, the less obvious, bodily manifestations of resistance in the form of queer relationality and performative identity have been understudied. Using the theory of performativity by Judith Butler and the insights of bell hooks about love as an ethical and transformative practice, this analysis redefines queer intimacy as not only a sign of sexual identity but as a process of resistance that is constant and dynamic and is reflected in everyday life. The discussion shows that identity in both novels is built up in terms of repetitions of behavior, emotional expression, and relational interaction as opposed to intrinsic or predetermined traits. Under oppressive regimes like patriarchy and slavery, these recurring performances are places where the dominant norms can be broken and renegotiated. In The Color Purple, the changing relationship between Celie and Shug Avery renegotiates the definitions of femininity, desire, and selfhood via emotional and bodily recognition. Likewise, the relationship between Samuel and Isaiah in The Prophets defies the fixation on strict enactments of masculinity and the dehumanizing logic of the plantation by prefiguring care, vulnerability, and cozy presence. The paper claims that queer performativity is a kind of embodied resistance that is not dependent on open rebellion but is executed through daily acts of intimacy, communication, and emotional sustainability. These practices establish new ways of being in oppressive systems, exposing the unsteadiness of socially shaped identities and providing room for new ways of self-identification. Placing the concept of queer relationality within the context of Black aesthetics, the present study emphasizes the importance of lived experience, emotional richness, and community bonding in maintaining the resistance. Finally, the article adds to the literature of Afro-American literature by showing that resistance is not restrained in any overt political action but rather permeates the performativity and relational actions of mundane life.