Black Male Vulnerability in Fiction Written by African American Women (Interview with Tuula Kolehmainen (University of Turku))

Toni Morrison and Alice Walker are just two of many famous African American authors whose novels focus mostly on the experiences of black women. But how do they actually depict black men?My guest today is Dr. Tuula Kolehmainen (University of Turku), whose research explores how these writers depict the vulnerability of their male characters, as a way to resist common stereotypes, such as the macho or the violent man.We also talk about Tuula's next project, which focuses on stand-up comedy. Tune in for an episode about contemporary literature, gender and the American comedy scene.00:00-07:01 Introduction07:02-19:23 Common stereotypes and black male vulnerability19:24-33:01 What is intersectionality and how does it affect black men?33:02-41:32 Stereotypes in other media41:33-55:20 Can we always have empathy with fictional characters?55:21-01:13:17 Stand-up comedy, gender and controversial jokes01:13:18-01:14:32 This or That01:14:33-01:18:25 Conclusion & Tuula's future projectsYou can follow Tuula's projects here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuula-kolehmainen-b5848a55/https://www.instagram.com/teekolehmainenofficial/And here's a snippet of her doing stand-up comedy 😊:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tubx7v_WxEM