Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal
Abstract
The recent use of the expression “Slow your Role” in the Direct TV advertisement is true to my experience with the phrase. It is a phrase used in reference to women and girls but not in reference to boys or men. The expression would not be appropriate for men, as the traditional understanding of manhood indicates that men are not to be limited and restricted but are free to be aggressive and free to move. Moreover, the expression suggests that the person’s course of action has been called into question, and the traditional understanding of masculinity indicates that men are not to be questioned nor corrected. While traditional masculinity is defined by dominance and strength, traditional femininity indicates that women be silent and submissive. True to the expression, the woman is not to be permitted to go “too fast,” but more so, movement on the part of the woman is to be limited; thus, the idea of woman in movement demands a reprimand and reminder of her rightful place. This is in keeping with traditional understanding of womanhood that demands woman gain her sense of purpose and definition from a man. While women are to be nurturing, the traditional role suggests that they need to be confined and under the direction of a man, lest they become evil, manipulative, and destructive.
Keywords
Humanities Symposium
Recommended Citation
Dixon, Rebecca
(2011)
"Slow Your Roll(le), You Ain’t Going Nowhere, Girl: The Confl icted Space of Liberation in African-American Women’s Literary Tradition,"
Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal: Vol. 2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium_journal/vol2/iss1/5