Mean

By Myriam Gurba

Subjects: 813/.6 b, Biography, Gurba, myriam, Authors, biography, Mexican American lesbians, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, Mexican american lesbians--biography, Biography & autobiography / literary, Biography & autobiography / women, LGBTQ biography and memoir, Mexican american lesbians, Mexican american women authors--21st century--biography, Mexican American women authors, Ps3607.u5485 z46 2017, Bio026000 bio022000 bio007000, collection:judy_grahn_award=finalist, Mexican american women authors, Lesbians, biography, Mexican americans, Biography & autobiography / personal memoirs

Description: Myriam Gurba's debut is the bold and hilarious tale of her coming of age as a queer, mixed-race Chicana. Blending radical formal fluidity and caustic humor, Mean turns what might be tragic into piercing, revealing comedy. This is a confident, funny, brassy book that takes the cost of sexual assault, racism, misogyny, and homophobia deadly seriously. We act mean to defend ourselves from boredom and from those who would cut off our breasts. We act mean to defend our clubs and institutions. We act mean because we like to laugh. Being mean to boys is fun and a second-wave feminist duty. Being mean to men who deserve it is a holy mission. Sisterhood is powerful, but being mean is more exhilarating. Being mean isn't for everybody. Being mean is best practiced by those who understand it as an art form. These virtuosos live closer to the divine than the rest of humanity. They're queers.