Constructing Desire: Beauty, Love of Blackness and Black Constellations in The Bluest Eye

Abstract

This paper examines The Bluest Eye as a critique of the ideological mechanisms that enforce white beauty standards and lead to the self-denial of Black identity. Through the experiences of Pecola Breedlove, Claudia MacTeer, and Pauline Breedlove, Morrison illustrates how dominant cultural narratives, particularly through mass media and literature, shape self-perception and enforce racialized hierarchies. The paper explores how Morrison historicizes the Black experience, analyzing the impact of Jim Crow laws, migration, and systemic exclusion on the construction of beauty and self-worth. Drawing on psychoanalytic and ideological critiques, this study argues that Morrison exposes the destructive effects of internalized racism and presents The Bluest Eye as an urgent call for Black solidarity and love of blackness. By engaging with theoretical perspectives on subject formation, ideology, and trauma, the paper discusses Morrison’s work within broader literary and cultural discourses on racial representation and self-identity.