85. Why does Alsana call her niece Neena 'Niece of Shame'?
From Quiz 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith
Answer:
Neena is a lesbian
Alsana repeatedly refers to Neena as 'Niece of Shame' throughout the book, as she strongly disapproves of Neena being a lesbian. Neena is used to it and mostly ignores her. She works in a shoe shop, fixing people's shoes. She also warns Irie off Millat when Irie gets hair extensions put in in the hope of attracting him, saying that Millat will only see her as a friend.
Later in the book, Alsana and Clara ask Neena and Maxine, her white girlfriend, to go to dinner with the Chalfens to find out more about them, as both of them disapprove of Millat and Irie spending so much time there. Neena is disgusted when Joyce asks her if she and Maxine use each other's breasts for pillows, and reports back that the Chalfens are 'crazy, nutso, raisins short of a fruitcake, rubber walls, screaming mad basket cases'.