Dismantling such an intricate system in ourselves and society requires those deliberate punches. If you are white, they may be a punch to the gut of any white privilege you possess. The essays are more than thought-provoking they are urgent. It concludes with a scathing critique of capitalist systems that require incompetence in order to generate profit. It begins as a funny and almost lighthearted anecdote about LinkedIn as “exemplar of the promises technology makes that neoliberalism can never fulfill,” and then shifts to the horrifying account of her experiences as a black woman deemed incompetant in her ability to advocate for her own body during her pregnancy.
One essay that stands out is “Dying to Be Competent,” which encompasses the range of Cottom’s talent. Funny, heartbreaking and raw, each one tackles gender, race, and capitalism without pulling any punches. The essays switch easily between personal narrative and scholarly observation, between educational and dissentiate (what does this mean?) voices. “Before I was a real academic, I was a black woman, and before I was a black woman, I was a black girl.” This is the thread woven throughout the collection. “Thick” is to have intellectual power and be full in your humanity. Being “thick” was to be uncategorizable, to have contradictions, to exist in a space that wasn’t made for you. This is how the author describes being “thick.” A man at a bar called her this, so she has turned it into the theme of her essay collection. “Being too much of one thing and not enough of another has been a recurring thing in my life,” writes Tressie McMillan Cottom.
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