Girl, Woman, Other. by Bernardine Evaristo
That was a whirlwind of the last two chapters. However, I would love to start out by saying how much I love how much Yazz’s parents love her. The idea that we start with Amma talking about how much of a revolutionary she is, but how, despite all of that, her life goals changed when she had her daughter. She was still a radical feminist, but watching her struggle with those ideals and protecting her daughter made me think of how scared I would be if I brought a daughter into this world.
Yet to bookend the book with Roland’s perspective was beautiful to me. I love that he said, “Yazz is the reason he got his act together, his life is divided into the Before Yazz and After Yazz eras” (Evaristo 413). There is something about parenthood that changes most people. I love that he talked about wanting more for her and striving to be the best parent he could be for her.
As someone who grew up with cultural differences from her parents, I love this perspective from the parents themselves. Yazz might be embarrassed or sometimes disagree with them, but there is no doubt that they love her. They might not be the best parents, but in both of their sections, we get the idea that she was a fundamental change in their lives. There was always this want to be either be better or make the world better. It is especially impactful because when I think of black parents in media, I think of the saddest stories growing up. I remember there is a running joke about “He went out for milk and never came back,” but it is not really present in Yazz’s section. They might not understand her, but it feels like a loving family. There is family, even if it is unconventional. I think we have seen a recent shift in media, where young black children are present with whole families. I think of shows like Blackish and The Neighborhood. There is a positive shift in Black media where we get people of color, especially African Americans, in positions of power or just general happiness. When I was younger, they were normally put in bad positions where they required a white savior. But now they are saving themselves and loving themselves in families of their own.
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