The Hate U Give: Feminism??

Within the novel The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas brilliantly tackles multiple topics such as police brutality, racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. Though this novel may not speak of feminism as prominently as other topics, there are multiple very important characters and scenes that lean towards feminism.

This novel in general also weighs heavily on paternalism. You see that Starr is constantly being supported protected by male figures in the novel. Not to say that her mother Lisa, doesn’t do the same, but they are definitely portrayed in different ways. The novel depicts Lisa as more of a caregiver being sensitive and understand of Starr’s feelings. She is the one who is first to hold her and hug her, which goes back in relation to the mother archetype. She’s depicted as more of a gentle character. On the other hand, you have male-dominated characters like Maverick and Carlos who both act as father figures to Starr. On one hand, you have Carlos, Starr’s uncle who happens to be a police officer as well. Quick side note- what a surprise that Carlos is a police officer, another career that is thought to be more male-dominated. He has always been there for Starr, especially when Maverick was in jail when she was younger. It is also later mentioned that Carlos attacks the officer who shot Khalil. Again, the tough and strong male character strikes again. Then we have Maverick, a former gangbanger and Starr’s father who pushes her to have a voice and to face the injustices of the black community head-on. Both these characters seem to push Starr to do something greater and are both always on Starr’s side. They are they to push her to her limits, but also there to protect her and her safety net if she fell.

The first part of the novel I want to talk about is actually one of the characters, Hailey. In the beginning chapters of the novel, there was a boys versus girls basketball game. Right off the bat, you can see that there is a clash between genders already with the fact that the basketball game is against the two genders, rather mixing them up together. It is then noticed that Hailey gets a little angry and frustrated when the girls are not playing up to par with the boys because the girls just wanted to flirt with the boys on the court. During the game, Hailey says, “Look at that! It’s that whole ‘play like a girl’ mind-set the male gender uses to belittle women, when we have as much athleticism as they do” (107). You can see that Hailey seems to be a feminist and believes that both males and females can have the same capabilities, in this case, athleticism. However, it is clear that gender roles are getting in the way of this. It is thought that males should be the ones to do the hardcore stuff, like playing sports and whatnot, while the females act as the cheerleaders on the side. In this specific scene, the role of the female was to flirt and act “girly”.

Furthermore, within the same scene, Jackson later says, “There’s always room for pretty girls. We’ll try not to hurt you” (108). I also think that the concept of The Male Gaze also plays into effect in this scene. It’s like Hailey, Maya and Starr are there to prove that they can be athletic, but at the same time, they are also just something for the boys to look at. They are being objectified as something to look at rather than being recognized as an equal to the male, hence saying that there’s always room for pretty girls. Again, the gender roles play a part in this quote too. The females are there solely to be pretty, while the males are the ones who are strong and trying not to hurt, never the ones who get hurt.

All in all, I do believe that the subtle quotes and ideas within this novel really captures the idea that despite what we may think, even in modern day society, males and females aren’t also considered as equals. Even the smallest things like splitting up genders for a basketball game can hint to an unequal fairness between the two genders. At the same time, I think the novel eventually beautifully sums up Starr’s character. Though this novel is surrounded by many male characters, the storyline still revolves around her and the journey. She goes from being a scared, vulnerable girl, into a fierce young woman who says that she will never be silenced and that she will never give up.