Womanbeing and Womanself

The book explores the twin concepts, Womanbeing and Womanself. Using novels written by black women in the U.S., Africa and the Caribbean, the book illustrates how the characters live out their lives either in a state of womanbeing orin a state of womanself or both. To illustrate the twin concepts, the author draws from a work by Jean Paul Satre, titledBeing and Nothingness. The author also theorizes on the origin of inequalities between men and women and how thatled to the dominance of men over women. The author also claims that women perpetuate the surbordinate position ofwomen unwittingly accepting the assertion by men that women are weak and need the guidance and protection of men.