Homosexuality has been a controversial topic throughout all of humanity. Many societies have condemned the practice of same-sex love and have tried to cure it throughout the decades. Many claimed it is often seen as “unnatural.” Gay relationships—especially lesbian relationships—are not often addressed in media and if they are, are usually dismissed, such as in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. The typical argument tends to be whether Celie was indeed truly homosexual and would identify as such, or if she was a victim of homosocial desires due to the abusive male relationships built in her past. Despite this argument, it seems difficult to believe that Celie is simply a victim to abusive men and powerful women. Although Shug Avery has an intoxicating power over men that can probably inspire any woman to follow in her footsteps, it seems to be more than simply being “inspired” to get Celie attracted to women. Celie showcases her sexual and romantic attractions with the character, Shug very early on in the novel. She addresses this attraction in her early …show more content…
While yes, she is intimidated by men, she mainly used that identifier to dehumanize them, especially to show her jealousy in the fact that he’s with Shug. As she becomes more comfortable with men, the use of this “Mr.” identifier becomes less permanent throughout the novel, and can be seen most prominently in the gradual progression of the relationship she has with her husband, Albert. “Stripping away the ‘Mr. _____’ identifier from her husband reveals that he no longer invokes the same kind of fear in her as he did at the beginning of the novel” (Harveyc007, 2013), yet despite her newfound confidence with Albert, this does not stop her from comparing their relationship to her and Shug, and does not change her mind about how she feels when she has sex with him, even when they use techniques that should bring pleasure to her as