Summary: Through their exploration of the sexual politics of male-female relationships and some of the major defects that cause conflicts within them, the playwrights emphasize that there is as much of a need for a revolution in gender relations as in race relations. While many black male playwrights and activists were sending the message that relationships between the sexes would be successful if only black women were submissive and obedient to their men, these black women playwrights, like the black women blues singer, presented a feminine view of male-female relationships whereby their female protagonists assert themselves in their relationships, and no longer allow their self-worth to be undermined or their needs neglected. These playwrights challenge the sexist attitudes, ideas, and behavior that were being promulgated by some black nationalists, as well as the negative myths that were repeated in order to subdue black women and make her a scapegoat for the problems within black relationships and within the black community. The influence of the Women's movement is apparent in the number of plays that conclude with the black female protagonist exercising autonomy and agency, and moving from under the power of men.