Waiting to Exhale

Waiting to Exhale has been hailed as a book that changed the perception of professional Black women in literature and, via its film adaptation, is further credited with opening a dialogue about Black women in R&B music. Discuss how Black women were previously represented in literature and how this novel impacted the representation of Black women in literature, film, and music.

Why does McMillan alternate between first-person narration (Savannah and Robin) and a third-person narrator? What impact does this structure have on characterization and on the text as a whole?

Discuss the characterization of Gloria’s 16-year-old son, Tarik. How is he depicted? What does his characterization and storyline suggest about the lives of young Black men in the early 1990s?