Gender and Sexuality in Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It”

“She’s Gotta Have It” is a film directed and produced by Spike Lee in 1986. The movie talks about gender and sexuality in the African American community. The plot revolves around a twenty-two-year-old woman, Nola Darling, who dates three men at the same time. The three suitors are Jamie Overstreet (well-meaning and polite), Greer Childs (a model who loves himself) and Mars Blackmon who is immature. Nola is attracted to all the three men as she likes different things about each of them and does not want to commit to any of them. Trouble brews when the three men realize that Nola has sexual relations with all of them. Greer, the model, justifies Nola’s behavior and claims that she sees them as a collective, not individuals. However, Mars and Jamie become upset and tell Nola to commit to one of them. Nola does not take this seriously then goes to Jamie’s house where he rapes her. Nola then decides to dump Mars and Greer and commit to Jamie. In the end, Nola cheated on Jamie and stated that monogamy resembles slavery to her as she loves being free (Edugyan).

The film falls under the genre of romantic comedy as it features erotic scenes and comical aspects. The setting is Brooklyn in the nineteen-eighties (Edugyan). Brooklyn is an area that is widely inhabited by the black community. In the 1980s, women were trying to acquire their sexual independence in spite of societal expectations. Feminists campaigned for sexual liberation; this is part of the third wave of Feminism, which continues to date. However, it was not easy because the society expected women to be wives or in monogamous, committed relationships. The same rules do not apply to men as they were free to have numerous sexual partners without societal criticism. The movie’s cinematography was done by Ernest Dickerson. ”She’s Gotta Have It” was shot in purely black and white images to create an illusion of class and edginess. The lovemaking scenes are played in slow motion to make them last longer (Swafford). The erotic scenes feature Nola’s body without clothes to excite the male viewers. Dickerson does this intentionally to show that women’s bodies are a sexual fascination for men.

The film is a clear depiction of the expectation of the African American society on women. In the black culture, women are expected to be in monogamous, committed relationships. The three men find it awkward that a woman can date three men at the same time. However, the practice is very common among men, especially in the black community. Women are not allowed to multi-date. Furthermore, they are expected to be in committed relationships, not casual ones, which Nola preferred. To Nola, commitments were a form of slavery. The fact that the three men forced Nola to choose means that men can give women ultimatums in the African American community. Nola feels helpless and has to make a decision. She goes against her way of life to satisfy societal expectations. If the men were uncomfortable with the situation, they had the choice to leave. However, the film informs the viewer that there are members of the society who understand that women can have multiple sexual partners. While Jamie and Mars were angry that Nola was dating three men at a go, Greer looked at the situation from Nola’s perspective. He said that Nola views them as a collective. Apart from this, women cannot make their own choices. Nola was not in a committed relationship with anyone. Therefore, she could make her own decisions without being questioned by anyone. However, she let the men in her life dictate her.

Spike Lee constantly uses imagery to drive the movie’s theme. Most scenes in the movie feature Nola in her bed. Nola addresses the audience from her bed because that is her most comfortable place. She even tells Jamie that she can only ”do it” in her bed. The fact that she uses the word ”it” to refer to sex means that it was not normal for women to talk about coitus in the African American culture. Nola’s bed is set as an altar decorated with scented candles. The bed gives the notion that Nola is a sex goddess and the three men worship her at the ”altar” (Patterson).

Apart from this, the movie shows us that women in the African American community are defined by their affiliations with men. Nola’s obsession with men is obvious as she does not look up to any woman. Her favourite political figures are all men. During Nola’s free time in her house, she works on a collage of male politicians. The audience also discovers that Nola’s birthday falls on the same day as Malcolm X’s. The movie does not feature other aspects of Nola’s life such as her job and family. Nola does not have genuine female friendships (Simmonds 14). There are many scenes showing the relationship between Nola and the three men but the audience does not know Nola’s occupation, and there is no mention of her family. The film simply portrays her as a woman with three lovers. Nola’s obsession with men alienates her from the women in her life. She views her roommate, Clorinda Bradford, as a hindrance to her independence. Nola does not trust Opal because she seems to have a crush on her. However, she is comfortable around Jamie after he rapes her. Nola rejects the company of the only person in the film with the intention of helping her comprehend her sexuality. Dr Jamison wants Nola to understand that there are other important aspects of her life apart from sexuality. She tells Nola that intellect is more important than sex, i.e. a mental connection is more important than the physical. The lack of female political figures, refusal of Dr Jamison’s advice and the lack of strong female friendships shows that women in the African American society respect men and rarely look up to female authoritative figures. As such, their lives are defined by men.

Spike Lee also introduces rape in the African American culture. The scene is important to the film because it gives a clear picture of the negative sexual experiences of women in the African American culture. Men use rape as a tool of punishment. Jamie punishes Nola Darling because she did not want to leave her other lovers and commit to him. The scene shows Nola on her knees. The image is a demonstration of slavery; women are regarded as sexual slaves in the African American culture.  The position indicates that Jamie has power over Nola and that women in the black society are expected to be submissive to men. During the act, Jamie asks Nola, ”Is this how you like it?” Jamie’s words indicate that he is unapologetic and feels entitled to rape Nola. Jamie insinuates that Nola’s promiscuity means that she approves of him raping her (Simmonds 18).

 Furthermore, the audience understands that rape is normalized in the black community. Nola does not see the need to report the incident to the police. She accepted the sexual violence and did not tell anyone about it. Her silence shows that many promiscuous African American women who are raped by their lovers or spouses are not expected to report the crime due to the patriarchal nature of the society. Instead of feeling angry at Jamie, she tells her roommate that she made a mistake and Jamie despises her for it. Nola’s actions show the audience that self-blame is common among African American women after the sexual violation. At this point, Nola’s independence is questionable. She wants to date multiple men but does not get angry when a man takes away her freedom of choice and sexually violates her. Nola is in need of independence but tries to justify Jamie’s cruelty. To make matters worse, she decides to commit to Jamie in spite of his actions (Simmonds 19).

In conclusion, the film ”She’s Gotta Have It” is a romantic comedy produced and directed by Spike Lee is a representation of society’s expectations of the African American woman. Lee portrays how women in the black community are expected to be in monogamous relationships; he also shows how rape is normalized in the African American setting and is used to punish women. The film teaches women in the African American community that they should be sexually liberated and not conform to society’s standards.

Works Cited

Edugyan, Esi. ”She’s Gotta Have It: How Spike Lee’s Film Revolutionised Black Sexuality on Screen.” The Guardian (2017). .

Patterson, Troy. ”Spike Lee Circles Back to ”She’s Gotta Have It”.” The New Yorker (2017). .

Simmonds, Felly Nkweto. ”She’s Gotta Have It: The Representation of Black Female Sexuality On Film.” Feminist Review (2015): 11-22.

Swafford, Andrew. She’s Gotta Have It (1986) by Spike Lee. May 2016. .