Beauty Hegemony and Racial Discrimination in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

Abstract

African American literature has long explored the issues of racial inequality, discrimination and identity formation in the United States. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970) is a seminal work that critiques the hegemonic beauty standards of white America and their devastating impact on the lives of African Americans. Through the tragic life of Pecola Breedlove, Morrison highlights how internalized racism, oppression and the myth of white superiority lead to psychological destruction, self loathing and disintegration of identity. This paper examines the novel through the lens of racial discrimination, focusing particularly on the concept of “beauty hegemony,” and analyzes how Morrison critiques American cultural narratives that equate whiteness with beauty and worthiness. By situating the novel within the historical and cultural context of the Black is Beautiful movement, the study underscores Morrison’s attempt to reclaim black identity and expose the violence of racialized beauty myths.