Early on in The Color Purple, Celie begins to explain that she doesn’t look at men because they scare her. Instead, she looks at women. Women are the only people who have ever been kind to her. Celie's sexual identity becomes that of a woman who loves a woman. In this novel, sexuality isn’t about loving one gender or the other—it’s about loving individual people. And in Celie's case, she just happens to love a woman. This element of the story has proven controversial over the years, but we think Celie deserves all the love she can get.
Questions About Sexuality and Sexual Identity
- Does Celie actually identify as a lesbian, or is she just somebody who happens to love Shug?
- Do Shug and Sofia have more stereotypically male or female qualities?
- Does Celie begin to act in a traditionally masculine or feminine way after she leaves Mr.__? Are the pants a symbol of her sexual identity or not?
- Is Celie a person at all before she falls in love with Shug?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The Color Purple indicates that love has nothing to do with a person’s sexual identity. Love happens where it happens and nobody can predict it or stop it.