Race, Gender and Politics in Michelle Obama’s Autobiography "Becoming". An African American Women's Autobiography and First Lady Memoir

Table of Contents

Introduction: Tracing Autobiographical Genres and Intersectional Identities

Chapter One: ‘Am I Good Enough?’: Selling the American Dream in Michelle Obama’s Autobiography

Chapter Two: Reinventing The Role of First Lady: A Quest for Self-Definition Through Intersectionality

Conclusion

Objectives & Themes

This dissertation analyzes Michelle Obama’s autobiography Becoming (2018) through the lens of black feminist theories, examining how she constructs her identity by merging the traditions of African American women's autobiographies with the political memoir sub-genre.

• Construction of intersectional identities regarding race, gender, and class.
• The role of self-determination and self-definition in navigating public and private spheres.
• Fusing the personal narrative with the public life of a political figure.
• Resistance techniques, such as "backtalk," used to counter negative stereotypes.
• The evolution of the "First Lady memoir" as a site of identity formation and social activism.

Excerpt from the Book

Chapter Summary

Introduction: Tracing Autobiographical Genres and Intersectional Identities: This chapter establishes the theoretical framework, focusing on intersectionality and black feminist perspectives to analyze the autobiographical tradition of African American women.

Chapter One: ‘Am I Good Enough?’: Selling the American Dream in Michelle Obama’s Autobiography: This section investigates Obama’s educational journey and her use of self-determination to achieve success and define her identity against intersecting barriers.

Chapter Two: Reinventing The Role of First Lady: A Quest for Self-Definition Through Intersectionality: The analysis shifts to Obama’s public life, exploring how she reconstructs the First Lady role by integrating her private narrative with her political reality.

Conclusion: This final section summarizes how Obama fuses personal and political narratives to successfully redefine her identity as an African American woman in a public sphere.

Keywords

Michelle Obama, Becoming, Autobiography, Intersectionality, Black Feminist Theory, First Lady Memoir, Self-Definition, American Dream, Identity Construction, Resistance, Race, Gender, Political Memoir, Marginality, Empowerment

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core focus of this dissertation?

The dissertation explores how Michelle Obama uses her autobiography Becoming to define her own identity by navigating the intersections of race, gender, and class within both personal and public contexts.

What are the primary themes discussed in the work?

Key themes include self-determination, the subversion of stereotypical images (such as the "angry black woman"), the struggle to balance a private self with public expectations, and the fusion of autobiography with political memoir.

What is the primary research question?

The study examines how Michelle Obama constructs her identity in Becoming through the amalgamation of the African American women's autobiographical tradition and the sub-genre of the First Lady memoir.

Which theoretical methods does the author utilize?

The author employs a close reading of the primary text, Becoming, framed by black feminist theories (e.g., Patricia Collins, bell hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw) and literary theories concerning autobiography and political memoirs.

What is covered in the main body of the text?

The body analyzes Obama's academic journey as a search for self-advancement in Chapter One and her transition into the public role of First Lady, where she focuses on self-definition and reclaiming her narrative, in Chapter Two.

Which keywords best describe this research?

The research is characterized by terms such as intersectionality, self-definition, African American identity, political memoir, and narrative resistance.

How does Obama handle her "Harvard" experience?

The author notes that Obama explicitly omits her Harvard Law School experience, arguing this omission is intentional because it does not fit the specific "self-made" narrative of hard work and struggle she constructs for the American Dream.

What is the significance of the "First Lady genre" in this study?

The study identifies that Becoming breaks new ground by being the first memoir of its kind by an African American First Lady, thereby creating a "Black First Lady genre" that addresses institutional exclusion.

How does the concept of "backtalk" manifest in the autobiography?

Obama uses "backtalk" or "flagrant resistance"—a concept by Johnnie Stover—to challenge negative perceptions of herself and to assert her own agency through rhetorical questioning and decisive action.