Objectification, Self-Objectification, Sexual-Objectification and Self- Immolation in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon

Abstract

The paper centers on the black female Nobel laureate Toni Morrison’s fiction Song of Solomon, a perfect visualization and minute characterization of profound thoughts that converge the core of black world. The study shows the effect of objectification, sexual-objectification and self-objectification of black females which leads to mental health risks via negative psychological outcomes. The juvenile females who have been objectified have an awful impact on their daily life, they try to cope with, manage and resist the atrocious experiences while some choose self-immolation. The paper tries to comprehend the prevailing socio-cultural context that objectifies females and develops the wrong impression of their appealing qualities. The black female characters in the fiction deal with their inner psychic world and consecutively suppress their identities because of the dominant white society and patriarchal black society. The paper concludes with a humanitarian approach through Shange’s choreopoem, and tries to create awareness among black female victims to rise above the socio-cultural benchmark, gloominess, and dejection, and innovate the brighter side of one’s life.