One passage of the novel that I found particularly intriguing was the one that describes Gypsy. Her description to me seems to illuminate not her own feminist power, but Tressa's. Gypsy is described as being a very strong woman. Her motto is that "pussy is power"(114) and that so long as she is able to use this body part, she will have power. She uses it to get money from men by "purposely" (115) getting pregnant or simply prostituting herself. She works as a hair dresser, but this isn't how she makes her money. She uses it to fill in gaps, but mostly relies on men to sponsor what she wants. To her, "motherhood is a business investment," just another thing that she can do to make money. She chooses the fathers carefully so that she knows they will financially take care of her and her children. She is extremely selfish, has no friends, and admits to caring about no one but herself.
This personality is starkly contrasted with Tressa's. Tressa is almost the opposite of Gypsy. She cares very deeply about others. She visits Taj in jail whenever she can, supports him even when she barely has money, dreams about going to college, and never asked for Lucky to shower her with gifts like he does. Were the roles reversed, we can be pretty sure that Gypsy would take Lucky for all he's worth and not care at all. But Tressa doesn't do that. She is a hard worker. And what's more, she cares very deeply for her sons. She doesn't view them as a business enterprise but rather as her family. She will do almost anything for her sons - even Lucky recognizes that. What's more, she works hard to build a good life for herself. When she decides to leave Lucky she takes matters firmly into her own hands and gets an apartment, works to make it clean, and creates a safe place for her sons. She also encourages Wiggles to go to rehab and supports her when she does. Tressa and Gypsy are both single women who are in one way or another empowered (though through different means).
What's interesting though, is that they had extremely similar childhoods. Tressa had an abusive stepfather and a mother who was incarcerated (and later died). She has had to work three jobs to support herself in school and give the leftovers to Taj. Gypsy had a drug-addict mother who couldn't make enough money to feed the family. So Gypsy started doing hair to make money. She became the breadwinner for herself and her mother. But despite such similar beginnings, both women end up becoming empowered in very different ways. This to me is supposed to highlight Tressa's more subtle feminine strength. Gypsy is very clearly independent and strong and at first look, appears to be a clear feminist. But comparing her strength to Tressa's highlights the pure, truly impressive power that Tressa has. And also highlights that Gypsy's power still comes from men. Yes she is independent, but she is gaining power from men. Tressa is truly independent and doesn't rely on men for her power. Upon closer inspection, she actually appears to be the 'freer' of the two women. I think that Gypsy serves to enlighten readers on how amazing and strong Tressa is and show that women can gain freedom without resorting to selling their bodies and reproductive functions.
I agree with the idea of Gypsy being Tressa’s antithesis to show her strengths, but I also think that their relationship shows the weaknesses of Tressa. Although Tressa’s way of obtaining financial security is more morally acceptable, her materialism shows when she is with Gypsy. Their pity thoughts about each other, all revolve around each other’s financial situation. The both think their appearance and material possessions are important and are signals to how one is doing financial. With Tressa, we see that even though she is struggling, she still gets her hair done and makes sure she is dressed up. Tressa’s wants to impress Gypsy so much that she uses it as motivation to become rich again. She thinks about how much it will shut Gypsy up and she can’t wait for the day , which comes when she goes back to the salon with her mink and Benz. Ironically, although Tressa is strong and less dependent than Gypsy, one can say that Tressa depends on Gypsy partially for self-approval.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting to see how the women in "A Project Chick" compare and contrast from a feminist perspective. You highlighted some important similarities and differences that I hadn't thought about in that framework before. A question that your blog post raised in me is how women from similar backgrounds grow to find empowerment in different ways, or take such different life paths. One reason is probably the differences that you pointed out in their situations and personalities, but another aspect to the story is class dynamics. Both started with basically no money and used their bodies to get ahead. However, Gypsy's income was mostly from child support while Tressa tries to move away from prostitution towards working multiple jobs, which changes the dynamics of their class standing. At the end of the book, Gypsy is described as begging for customers in her salon while Tressa owns a house and is financially stable. Something that questions whether this is empowerment in a feminist way is the dynamics between the two women that Hadiya brings up in her comment to your post, about Tressa showing off her bags and new car in the face of Gypsy's struggles. This constant competition between women is highlighted throughout the novel and is a message that Nikki Turner highlights from her feminist lens.
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