In The Color Purple there is one more way that men hold power over women and that is though sexuality. Mister is allowed to have as many mistresses as he pleases and can even keep them in his home where his own wife lives. Celie on the other hand spends half her life never even knowing what true passion feels like. Ironically she is saved by her husband's favorite mistress, Shug. Together the two of them discover what the love between two women can feel like. For Celie, she learns to have any type of desire and passion in her life. In American society some similar beliefs can definitely be found. For instance, a women who sleeps around is likely to be considered easy, a slut, and loose. However the general rule for men who sleep around is that they are "real men." The area where women have more power would be on the subject of homosexuality. Generally it is much more excepted to be a lesbian than it is to be a gay man. This can be seen where the men in The Color Purple never have homoerotic implications. Even though women seem to have more freedom here there is still the problem that there is inequality at all.
Next
