Myriam Gurba Zoom Extra Credit Olivia Tirelli

Mean is a memoir written by Myriam Gurba. The book explores themes of identity, race, sexuality, violence, and trauma through the author’s personal experiences growing up as a queer Chicana in Southern California. It is a powerful memoir that challenges societal norms and confronts uncomfortable realities. One of the main themes of Mean is the exploration of identity. She explores the tensions and challenges she faced in reconciling these two identities, as well as the expectations placed upon her. Another significant aspect of the memoir is the examination of sexuality. Gurba openly discusses her queer identity, exploring her experiences as a lesbian and the difficulties she faced due to her sexual orientation. She addresses the intersectionality of her identity, highlighting the unique challenges faced by queer women of color. Violence and trauma play a central role in Mean, Gurba recounts her experience of being sexually assaulted, exploring the lasting impact it had on her life. Through her writing, she confronts the discomfort and shame associated with discussing such traumatic events, challenging societal norms, and encouraging a dialogue about sexual violence. The writing style of Mean is characterized by its vulnerability and dark humor. Overall, Mean is a thought-provoking memoir that explores themes of identity, race, sexuality, violence, and trauma. Myriam Gurba’s unflinching honesty and unique voice make this book a powerful and important contribution to the memoir genre. It encourages readers to examine their own biases and prejudices while confronting uncomfortable truths about the world we live in. During the Zoom with Myriam Gurba, I was initially intrigued by how personable Myriam Gurba was. She was very bubbly, talkative, and comical. The background Professor Savonick provides at the beginning of the meeting sounded familiar to some of the discussions we have had in class. She was very humble about the introduction and context given about her and her book, Mean. It was interesting to me to learn more about the writing process behind Mean. Gurba reveals she started experimenting with her writing about 6 years before she published Mean. She did not have any intention of publishing the book, at first. She wanted to write about sexual assault using humor, horror, and camp. It took Gurba a lot of experimenting to end up with the final book. Gurba wanted to offer another way for people to talk about their stories. Someone asked how Gurba can balance feeling expected to tell her story and not. Gurba explains how she wanted to share her story to also help other people feel validated. She feels that in our society we aren’t able to “publicly mourn” trauma and other things. I think the most important theme I have gathered that is portrayed through Mean and everything else Gurba says, is the idea that people get discriminated against no matter what. Gurba touches on how she lived in a predominantly white neighborhood, but she got her windows shot in for being one of the few neighborhoods’ Mexican family. Her brother also got beat up, and their backyard got vandalized. This all happened strictly due to discrimination and prejudice. People could solely be minding their business and still run into trouble. This is what is conveyed the most. For instance, when Gurba says, “If this happens to girls who are nice, what do they have to lose by being mean.” This book was an amazing read, and it was even more interesting to hear the author, Myriam Gurba speak about her book.