Rewriting

Polytropic Identities

in the Postmodern African American Novel

Chapter II

From Stereotypical to Polytropic Black Identities:

Excavating Literature and History

[In contemporary African American literature] most importantly, black women themselves are projected as thinkers, feelers, human beings, not only used by others, but as conscious beings… They have culture, race, sex, sometimes situations in common, but they are not just push button automatons who scream when given this cue, cuddle up when given that smile. They are not just stereotypes, for stereotype is the very opposite of humanness; stereotype, whether positive or negative, is a byproduct of racism, is one of the vehicles through which racism tries to reduce the human being to a nonhuman level (Christian 1985, 16).¹