Was Celie lesbian or bisexual?

[FancyFanny]

Please can you help? DD is studying A-level English Lit and in her coursework essay she is discussing sexuality within this text.

So, to settle the discussion we've had what is your opinion of Celie's sexual orientation?

I always thought she was lesbian. I also thought that she was unable to find herself sexually before Shug because of the abuse she suffered previously.

I can't do quotes because it's been over 20 years!

Curious what you think OP and daughter.

I think Celie was lesbian. All the sex she had with men was rape/abuse. There is nothing in the story that indicates she was sexually attracted to men.

She was clearly attracted to Shug, even if in the beginning she didn't exactly understand what was happening.

I always thought she was lesbian, but as her only encounters with men where abusive, and Shug was the only one to find her sweet spot, she may have been lesbian by nurture not nature.
And Shug is bi.

I'm sure she doesn't even know. She is never permitted to explore her sexuality before Shug so she could be anything other than straight at that point. Is avoid labelling it or refer to her as queer

My take is she was abused by the men in her life, she wasn't a lesbian, shug was the only person who showed her any form of personal, gentle, kindness apart from her sister Nettie.
Imagine living her life and then meeting someone like shug, beautiful, talented and outgoing, who touched her with a gentle hand. ❤️
No wonder Celie loved her

I only just learned what demisexual was the other day. Demisexual is when you don’t feel a physical attraction first off, but develop it after you’ve fallen in love with their whole personality. But please check with Google.

So you could argue that Celia only enjoyed the sex with Shug because she had grown to love her. I’m not sure. Maybe that’s the point of the novel, we don’t know how Celie would have turned out if she hadn’t been raped by both her father and husband.

The sex with Shug was so Shug could teach Celie that her own body could give her pleasure. I don’t remember anywhere in the book where Celie is attracted to other women or men.

Maybe the answer is we’ll never know. Her first experiences put her off men entirely. I think she saw Shug as a person who loved her, not a woman who loved her.

I think she might be asexual. Wether this is the result of her experiences, or she was born like this? There’s no hint in the later part of book she wants anyone else apart from Shug, (I’m just going by my memory here).

DD is adamant she's bi-sexual; she says her teacher has told them she is. I myself am not convinced. I see no evidence in the book of her being attracted to men at all- the only sex she has with men is done to her: I mean, she never really has a choice! I would say she's a lesbian and whether that was a result of an inborn desire or the circumstances of her earlier life is open for debate.