“Our heart meat was so thick. Once punctured, though we waltzed those hearts into war without a plan of escape… We heaved like two hulks.”
(Heavy- Kiese Laymon, Page 4)
The strong black woman or man trope is one that simultaneously helps and hurts black people as evident by this statement made by Laymon. He says the hearts of him and his mothers’ were thick, meaning they often powered through the struggles and emotional distress that occured in their lives. There is no escape from the stressors as it was difficult to find healthy outlets to cope. They often suppressed their traumas which was repeated behavior, which really does begin to weigh heavily on a person regardless of how emotionally resilient you think you are. He then goes on to say that black people are almost superhuman like- hints the hulk reference, and you have to be unbreakable in order to carry on in this world.
Trauma is something that almost all people endure at least once in their lifetime. Some more than others but it is not always easy to recover from. Laymon references the expectations casted by society and even other black people that black Americans are supposed to have “thick skin.” There is this notion about the black community that you must be strong all the time. You mustn’t tell anyone if you’re going through hard times or that you need help. Because of this, a lot of black Americans have deep rooted issues, traumas and emotional and physical scars due to the fact that they’re seen as weak by actually processing the pain that they’re experiencing. It is expected that you internalize trauma and simply move on, but it is clear that this behavior is very destructive to the black body and mind.
Hi Taylor.
As you said in your response, there’s this thought process that Black people have to have thick skin all of the time despite what they might be going through. This stereotype of the strong Black woman and/or man has serious repercussions as you said. More often than not that begins to take a toll on the person’s mental health and such. I like how you touch on this topic and further elaborate on how it is that this concept of thick skin weighs people down. While having thick skin can help people evade stereotypes such as the angry Black woman/man, the affects of keeping everything to yourself might have on one’s wellbeing is probably more detrimental than helpful. As of right now Laymon might not go too in depth about this topic, but I feel like this concept of trauma and suppressing it is something that will continue to be brought up throughout the book.
Hello, Taylor
I loved the fact that you not only brought up the common concept that black people essentially have to ignore what they’re experiencing. And how this clearly has a toll on an individual’s behavior and overall mental state. I also enjoyed how you went into further detail explaining how this creates emotional and psychical scars that aren’t healed by simply ignoring them. I feel applying this concept when continuing to read this memoir can add perspective. And make reading the book a whole lot more enjoyable then it already is. I enjoyed reading your response and you did a fantastic job.