Lesbianism In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

A lesbian is a woman- indentified woman and Adrienne Rich calls it ‘Lesbian continuum’ she explains lesbian continuum is “Include is a range through each woman’s life and throughout history of woman indentified experience no simply the fact that a woman has had consciously desired genital sexual experience with another woman (25)”. Rich argues to embrace many more forms of primary intensity between and among women including the sharing of a rich inner life.
Their Eyes were watching God is overwhelmingly centered on Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake. Whereas certain critics recognize the female search for self and need for community as key issues in the novel, most still give priority to heterosexual love and experience as the sole informers of Janie’s existence. Feminism and Black self – determination in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God” that “Tea Cake expands Janie’s horizons both literally and figuratively”(57). Later in the article Zora writes, “the sense of sexuality and shared roles found in Janie’s relationship with tea Cake is another aspect of Janie’s development as a person. …. It is in her life’s on the muck’ of the Everglades with Tea Cake that Janie achieves Equality with man”(60).

He offers her experience”(31). Crabtree’s and Wolff’s arguments are problematic. Crabtree states that Tea Cake expands Janie’s horizons while Wolff claims Tea Cake gives Janie the world and offers her experience. In both instances we may note that Janie is a passive character, viewed by these critics as an object acted upon by Tea