65 pages • 2 hours read
Janet MockRedefining realness: My path to womanhood, identity, love, & so much more
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Epigraph at the beginning of the book, a quotation by poet Audre Lorde, reads: “You become strong by doing the things you need to be strong for. This is the way genuine learning takes place. That’s a very difficult way to live, but it has also served me. It’s been an asset as well as a liability.” What does Lorde mean by this? How does this quotation reflect the plot and themes evident within Mock’s memoir?
As a work of nonfiction, much of the memoir is dictated my Mock’s memory, which she acknowledges as subjective. How does this contribute to and/or detract from the importance that experience and subjectivity play within the work?
What criticisms, if any, do you have of Mock’s memoir? Are there any points wherein the narrative becomes problematic for you? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.
One of second-wave feminism’s most readily-repeated slogans is The personal is political. Do you believe this memoir creates the personal as political?
In contrast to second-wave feminism, many modern radical feminists object to being labeled as ‘cis’ because they feel the feminine that gender patriarchy forces upon female bodies is unnatural. In light of this criticism, do you believe this work is a feminist text? Why or why not?
How does Mock’s intersection of identity—as a (multiracial) person of color, as a trans woman, as someone who grew up economically disadvantaged—affect her experiences? How do these identities affect one another?
Throughout the narrative, Mock stresses the need for honest revelation about her past experiences, and many reviewers have lauded her in this effort. What do you find to be the most honest about this book? Are there any aspects of the book that seem dishonest to you? Explain your answers using evidence from the text.
Describe Mock’s relationships with the members of her family, especially in regard to her parents. How do these relationships shape the narrative arc and themes of the story?
Much of Mock’s narrative discusses explaining what things are/were—that is, her experiences, her hopes, her dreams, and her thoughts. Are there any instances where you feel she does not explain things sufficiently or discuss what things are not? What role does absence play within the themes and narrative of the story?
