The main character in this story is a black high school girl named Crystal. Crystal is an academically successful student, and initially that is a large part of her identity. When Crystal is befriended by the beautiful and popular Geena, their friendship offers Crystal a different experience that allows for a more social aspect of high school. While Geena influences Crystal, she is not the sole contributor to her new identity. Crystal uses her intelligence to boost her into popularity by coming up with a plot to vandalize the school which will actually work in their favor.
Even though Crystal becomes more popular and changes her physical appearance with more fashionable clothes, earrings, etc. she still maintains her grades and even helps Geena with hers. Crystal cares about Geena, but she’s also confident enough to exist without her. Geena was angry at Crystal, Crystal was upset, but not devastated. She was tough enough to know that she could survive without friends if she needed to, but she also did not want that.
Crystal’s friendship with Geena modeled a crossroad-like time in her life where she was conflicted between her loyalties and experiences with friends, and a future that was made possible by leaving her friends and pursuing an academic career. Instead of being proud and excited about her status of being a valedictorian she sloughs it off in front of Geena to comfort her friend that she is still Crystal, and still relatable. In the end it seems that Crystal has chosen to deny her academic status and remain with her friend by burning her name in the field. Geena however makes the alternate decision for Crystal and tells her to leave, allowing Crystal to see what real friendship and sacrifice looks like. By leaving Geena to take the blame, Crystal chooses a different path and direction to take her life.

__One of the most interesting concepts in this chapter is the choices that these girls make about their lives. While clearly sharing a common community and being both feminine and black, these two girls in the end choose two very different paths. The intrigue then stems from the idea of how much agency either one of these women really have in their choices. What outside forces and perceptions does societal expectations play in the lives of these women?

This was a really interesting take on how people still view race and stereotyping. We really like to think of ourselves as a society that no longer sees the same kind of racial separation or stereotyping, but as shown in these pictures its clear that they have been reborn into something else.  Whether people choose to acknowledge the concept that we are still influenced by our perception of race or not is not the issue. Images like the one held in the hand of the female on the left in which African Americans are stereotyped and degraded are still prevalent and influential.

The following link is an article on an interesting movement that is students against stereotyping and the exploitation of culture as negative imaging.



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Collins discusses one of the problems with the idea of the new racism saying, "Recognizing that racism even exists remains a challenge for most White Americans and, increasingly, for many African Americans as well."(Black Sexual politics, 5).  The individuals depicted as exploiting these different races are exactly what Collins is referring to, as they seem to ignore that their actions discriminate and promote negative racist stereotypes.

The most appalling thing about the article about this campaign are the comments about this article at the end.  Most people are responding to how ridiculous they believe taking a stand against stereotypes are.  Many people are commenting that everyone just needs to "loosen up."

How do you react to these people's comments about being too politically correct, and not taking a joke?

The girls in the story started in similar circumstances and by the end they diverged into what is assumed to be, two very different paths.  The idea of achieving success for these girls is seen differently as well.  When Cee-cee gets her scholarship for the summer program, and she achieves valedictorian of her school she is perceived by her teachers and the school as someone on the path to success.

Even though she is a capable and book-smart girl, the reality of the difficulties that she faces in the real world are stacked against her.  As shown by these statistics of unemployment rates and salary as dictated by race and sex, equal pay and opportunity is still a myth.

In, "A Historical Overview: Black Women in White America" in reference to Black Women working, "They were twice as likely to be employed as [white women] but their economic horizons were severely limited." This was in reference to Black Women's emergence into the work field.  While many things have changed in the present day, including the type of work available, there are still remaining discriminating factors and limitations. 


What do these charts say about the types of opportunities available for individuals with varying race and gender?