Malcolm X and Louise Little

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Stephanie Pearson English 2680 Professor Sawyer September 29, 2012 Louise Little and the Female Gender Malcolm X’s extreme respect for his mother, Louise Little, seems to contradict his overall misogynistic attitude toward women. There is a clear disconnect in Malcolm belittling the character and intelligence of the women he chooses to become involved with, yet at the same time threatening to kill another man for “making the wrong kind of remark about my mother” (22). This clearly shows his personal relationship with his mother transcends his overall opinion of the female gender. The distinction lies in how Malcolm views the mother-son relationship from his relationships with women of his generation. Consumed by the idea of the black male identity, Malcolm views women who are his social equals as potentially threatening to his power. However, as his elder and provider, Malcolm’s mother was his support as he grew up to find his identity and establish himself. Malcolm pride and identity as part of the black race came from his mother. He respects his mother because she was a proud black woman. She hated the white blood that was in her, and almost paralleled Malcolm’s near reverse - racist attitude as he grew up “Thinking about it now, I feel definitely that just as my father favored me for being lighter than the other children, my mother gave me more hell for the same reason. She was very light herself but she favored the ones who were darker” (8). Throughout the autobiography, Malcolm continued this search for a strong identity and power. This is one of the reasons the Nation of Islam religion was so appealing to him. This religion gave the black race an innate sense of superiority and power, which could not be stripped away by the white man. Malcolm’s near obsession with the black male identity also translated to his treatment of women. Viewing women as
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