Lexi Storch
In Mean by Myriam Gurba she tells different stories about her childhood. Her memoir shares her interactions through her childhood. Myriam Gurba clearly describes her difficult upbringing. Gurba experienced sexual assault, homophobia, and racism while growing up. Gurba struggled with her own identity as a gay woman of color while negotiating the difficulties of coming out and finding acceptance in a traditional setting. “This White girl who I frenched-kissed went to Catholic school with me.” (Gurba 57) Being a young child and to come out gay could be a struggle for some, but Gurba is happy to express and write how she feels for the audience. Gurba highlights the challenges she experienced and the resilience she built in the face of adversity through compelling and genuine words. She takes her own personal stories of her childhood and explains all the challenges she has faced and overcame. Although there are some gruesome stories of her childhood she also adds humor to her stories and shares good ones aswell. Some things to think about while still reading the memoir is how Gurba reacts and deals with everything she went though as a child. In the sections I Wandereed Lonley as a Dissociated Cloud and Señoria both share Gurbas sexual assult experinces.
Throughout Gurba’s memoir we see how she challenges the way some normally think about childhood. Gurba reveals the harsher aspects of growing up, such as bullying, racism, and sexual assault, rather than portraying childhood as a period of innocence and wonder. “She looked me up and down and said, “Your mother… is a wetback.” I lost control of my limbs. My hands attacked her and they shoved her chest, making her lose balance and fall to the sand.” (Gurba 19) Gurba dealt with bullying throughout her childhood, and tells these stories with the details that she went through. By her doing this it allows the audience to feel like they were there and that they could visualize the incident. By showing how our formative experiences influence who we become as adults, she also questions the notion that our childhood experiences are somehow apart from our adult life. Gurba has expirenced a tramaful childhood, she felt helpless and scared. In the section I Wandered Lonley as a Dissociated Cloud shares another one of Gurbas sexual assults. “He was enjoying our closeness, relishing it, pressing himself to my backside, holding me captive. We were close enough to kiss. I saw the stubble in his pores.” (Gurba 118) Gurba shares her stories with intimate details, so the audience can feel the realness of the situation. While reading the memoir some may feel that the detail is too much from her childhood, but Gurba feels that it is important to showcase the details. While rewriting her stories she must go back through her childhood, which could be hard for her, but she does it to speak out about her past.
Another thing Gurba touches upon in her memoir is sexual assults she and others have lived through as a child. Many children and adults don’t have to think about this because many have not experienced it. “Macaulay set his pencil down. I knew where his cheating hand was headed. I felt it land.I blushed as his fingers snuck into my crotch. I clenched my developing jaw. I looked at Mr. Hand.” (Gurba 30) The reason this passage Señorita was made is so Gurba can share one of her sexual assult stories with us. In this passage we also know that Mr Hand knows this is going on, and he does nothing about it. To have this happen as a child is very scarring, Gurbas childhood is not one many experience. The section Strawberry Picker Speaks up about another of Gurbas experiences as a child along with Sophia Torres’ story. “The man who’s about to sexually assult me murdered Sophia Torres. That’s sort of how I know her.” (Gurber 112) In this section it shows how strong Gurba was as a child. She explains how she shares some things with Sophia Torres, except for the fact that Gurba lived and Torres didn’t. “The privilege of surviving doesn’t feel good. It makes me feel guilty.” (Gurba 112) These two quotes from this section and the memoir show how traumatic Gurbas childhood was at some points. She is explaining how she doesn’t feel lucky that she survived, and feels like she shouldn’t have. Another thing that Gurba went through as a child was having to deal with family sickness and racism. “Dr. Hamilton chuckled. He said, “She isn’t anorexic. She can’t be.” Why asked mom. “Your Mexican,” he answered.” (51) Gurba is with Ida at the doctor and they have to deal with racism when they are trying to get Ida help. Throughout her entire childhood she had to go through sexual assults, racism, and homophobia.
- How is our view of this period of life as Gurba’s emphasis on the social and cultural surroundings of childhood?
- How does Gurba question the idea that childhood is a period of development and progress, and how does this viewpoint affect our understanding of the significance of early experiences in shaping our identities?
Work Cited
Gurba, M. (2017). Mean. Coffee House Press
Skip to content