Educating Stevie

In the beginning of the book Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair we are introduced to the narrator Stevie. We immediately learn the lack of knowledge and curiosity Stevie has towards sex. As the story develops, Stevie finds herself in situations where she learns about sex and how it affects women.

We first see Stevie’s lack of knowledge about sex in the first chapter when she asks her mom what the word virgin means. Her mom tells her she is a virgin because she hadn’t had her period yet. Because Stevie doesn’t know what it means to have her period she asks her mom but her mom tells her she’ll know when the time is right. Later, Stevie learns that Carla had gotten her period and couldn’t wait until she had hers. This shows how much Stevie looks up to Carla and the influence that Carla has on Stevie. In chapter five Stevie finally got her period and learned from the nurse everything she needed to know. While talking with Carla and their friends Stevie hears Tanya say, “my love came down.” Because Stevie doesn’t want to look like a “square” in front of Carla she asks her mom what having someone’s love come down means. Like always her mom doesn’t answer her question and tells her to stay away from the person who said it. The opportunity to learn what having someone’s love come down comes when Carla asks her to read Annie Pearl’s diary. Because Stevie figured that reading the diary was better than asking her mom, she ended up reading it even though she knew it was wrong. In the diary she reads that Annie Pearl’s “love came down” when she had sexual contact with her boyfriend. Stevie also gets the opportunity to learn what it feels like when Yusef asks her to pee with him in chapter ten. Stevie almost did because Carla said it would be fine if she did. These examples show Stevie’s lack of knowledge and her mom’s unwillingness to educate her about sex. The examples also show the impact her friend Carla has on Stevie and the information she learns from her.

Not only is Stevie learning about sex in general, but she is also learning about how sex affects women only. At the end of chapter nine we find Stevie talking to her mother after she discovered Stevie kissing Yusef. Stevie’s mom, Evelyn, tells Stevie that if the neighbors had seen her they wouldn’t be talking about what Yusef was doing. Instead, they would be talking about what Stevie, the hoe, was doing. Stevie’s mom explains how men can do anything like stoop very low, and nobody will see it as wrong. Women on the other hand, have to consider their reputation. If they are seen with more than one man, there are so many names to call them. Even if Stevie weren’t doing anything wrong, her neighbors would have said otherwise. Stevie’s mom is teaching her the double standard regarding sex where men dominate. In chapter two Stevie’s friends Denise and Gail reinforce this double standard. They tell Stevie that she should let the boys touch her and like it, but pretend not to. To me it seems like they are saying that a woman should please men no matter what it is they want.

The first ten chapters show us the information and misinformation Stevie learns from her friends. Because her mom doesn’t talk to Stevie much about sex, Stevie turns to her friend Carla at school. Here she learns about a woman’s period, and the meaning of having their love come down. Her mom, on the other hand, teaches Stevie about the double standard in society regarding sex.

Love Vs. Homophobia

In the narrative “Fever” from the book The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories From a Black Woman’s Life we can see the characters experiencing different types of conflict. Some conflicts are external conflict, between two people or between a person and a force. Other conflicts are between a person and his or herself.

One type of conflict we notice in this narrative is internal conflict. In this case, the person is Stacey; the narrator’s loved one who is being confronted by “the invisible thing inside her.” Through out the narrative we see the narrator trying to convince Stacey to officially and publicly be her girlfriend but Stacey refuses. Stacey is scared of being caught during her secret encounters with the narrator. She is sacred because she doesn’t want to be called a “dyke” a “bulldagger” or a “freak.” She internally fights with herself because she doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know if she wants to fir into society or if she wants to officially be with the person she cares about. As she struggles with “the thing inside her” is she is forced to put up façade. She convinces the narrator to date boys in order for them to fit in society. The reason I think this is internal conflict is because Stacey fights with herself because she doesn’t know what to do. In one side, she tells herself she wants to be with Frankie, the narrator. On the other hand she doesn’t want to be seen or known as a lesbian.

By the end of the narrative, we learn that “the thing inside her” defeats Stacy. Instead of staying with the person she cares about, Stacey conforms to society. She begins dating Ned in order to appear normal to everybody around her. In the end, she becomes his fiancée, leaving Frankie on her own. We can also argue that this conflict can be classified as external conflict against a force. Stacey is not only battling with herself but she is also battling against society. The only reason she has to put up a façade is because she doesn’t want to be labeled by society. Unfortunately, Stacey gives in to in society by becoming engaged to Ned.

Another conflict we find in this narrative is external conflict between two people. This conflict occurs between Frankie and Stacey. They encounter conflict with each other because they don’t meet on common grounds. Frankie, wants Stacey to be her be with her and be her girlfriend. Stacey on the other hand, wants to keep their relationship a secret between them only. This causes problems between them because they are both hurting each other. We can see a confrontation when Stacey and the narrator meet at “the Cloister” when Stacey tells the narrator to date other people, boys. The narrator hides her feelings from Stacey in order to keep her around but she knows that she doesn’t want this. She wants Stacey but Stacey refuses.

In the end, we can say that this conflict is not really resolved. Stacey, hiding behind her fear, put an end to this conflict by becoming engaged to Ned. Causing her to lose. Frankie. Frankie, instead of telling Stacey how she feels, she unwillingly accepts Stacey’s engagement. This was an unexpected turn of events as Stacey gets the opportunity to be “normal” in society but loses the narrator at the same time.

Stigma and Same Sex Attraction: Going Against the Norm

In the book Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair, the narrator, Stevie continues to learn about sex and sexuality. In chapters, eight and nine, Stevie becomes familiar with same sex attraction. I believe she also learns about stigma and society’s gender roles.

In chapter eight, we met Willie Jean, a flat-chested tomboy who tells Stevie to consider joining the girl’s basketball team when she enters high school. This suggestion is followed by events and comments that teach Stevie about same sex attraction and it’s impact on society. First, Stevie’s friend, Carla tells Stevie that if she plays basketball she would get muscles and no boys would ever like her. I think Stevie is learning how lesbians are seen in society. When Carla calls Willie Jean “funny,” what she really is trying to say is “weird.” Lesbians are seen as abnormal and not like real women. They are also suppressed by society because they don’t follow the norm, the way it’s supposed to be. Stevie may not know it but she is learning about stigma.

Stigma is defined as the social disapproval of personal characteristics. I believe Carla disapproves of Willie Jean’s orientation because she thinks she’s “funny.” We can also see disapproval in chapter nine when Stevie talks to Yusef about possibly joining the girl’s basketball team. Yusef tells Stevie that he would not like his girlfriend playing in the team. Yusef says that there is no purpose in a girl trying to play basketball. I think Yusef is teaching Stevie about society’s gender roles. By saying, “what’s the purpose?” he is saying that all girls can do is date a basketball player but not play in a basketball team. It’s the same thing as saying that men bring home the bacon while women have to be housewives. Yusef is teaching Stevie that because she is a girl, she should date a basketball player and not play the sport. She learns that if you do not follow the norm or act the way society wants you to, you are seen as an outcast.

In chapters, eight and nine Stevie begins to learn about homosexuality and stigma. She learns what being a homosexual is when she meets Willie Jean. She also learns how society feels about same sex attraction and how they are treated.

The Party

In the chapter “The Party” from the Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon we find the narrator in an uncomfortable situation. The narrator finds herself in a party where her friend Pepper brought a boy for the narrator to dance with. The narrator is nervous because she didn’t want to be asked to dance because she doesn’t like boys. Later, she finds herself in the kitchen talking with Bobby, the boy she was supposed to dance with. After eyeing the narrator, Bobby asks her why she doesn’t have a boyfriend. The narrator tells him that she doesn’t have one because she doesn’t want one which is true. Questioning the narrator and almost making her cry, Bobby calls her a bulldagger- a lesbian. Afraid of what he might tell the rest of her friends she tears up but decides to clean her tears and return to the party.

I must admit that this was a difficult chapter for me to understand. After re-reading the I think I gained a good idea of what the themes were and ended up liking the chapter One of the reasons I liked this chapter is because I feel we can all relate to it. We all have different beliefs about something but we choose to keep quiet instead of speaking out about them. The reason we keep quiet is because we are afraid of standing alone. We don’t want to be the only one going against the norm. We don’t want to be the “weird” one that thinks, believes, or acts different than everybody else in society. I also like this chapter because I liked the narrator’s strong character. I liked that she did not dance with Bobby because it shows her confidence about her sexuality. She stayed true to herself because she knew that even she danced with Bobby, she knew she wouldn’t like it. Somebody with no confidence about their sexuality would have danced with a boy in order at least pretend, to like boys. In order to hide their true identity because it is abnormal. To hide their identity because it is taboo. I also liked this chapter because it proved to me that even if we do hide our identity from everybody else, it is important to stay true to ourselves.

As I mentioned before, I didn’t fully understand the chapter in the beginning therefore there were words I didn’t understand. The first word I didn’t understand was bulldagger. I read this word when Bobby said “I think you one of them-them bulldaggers!” As I found out the word bulldagger is a slang word that means lesbian. The second word was auburn which is o reddish-brown or golden brown color. Looking up these words helped understand the author’s descriptions a lot better. If I could ask the author one question I think I would ask her: Did you end up telling your friends about your sexuality? If yes, when and why did you decide to after trying to hide it?

After all I liked this story. Even though I didn’t understand the chapter at first, I ended up liking the chapter. I like the narrator’s strong character and the message of the chapter. I like that she stayed true to herself. I also liked it because I feel like anybody can somehow relate to the narrator.