Women in "Cotton Comes to Harlem"

"Cotton Comes to Harlem" shows blatant, in your face violence. This violence occurs between whites and blacks, blacks and blacks as well as the male-female relationships (all race variations). The women are powerful and manipulative. Usually when women use their bodies to reach a goal, I cringe. Why would they degrade themselves? How could they allow other people to see them in this way? However, in this book, I was proud of Iris for flaunting her body and escaping house arrest. In the end, I rooted for Billie when she tricked the Colonel into buying the empty cotton bale. This was a complete shift for me. Iris is smart, not naïve. She wasn't allowing people to goggle at her and offering to give herself to them simply for pleasure. She had a plan and for Iris, not even emotion got in the way. I respect her deeply for her strength and smarts. Women have a weapon, their bodies. They can use it to distract and reach their goal. Those who use this weapon have not lost dignity, they are simply more daring than the others.