Structure

For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts is organized into 12 sections, beginning with an introduction and ending with a conclusion. The text’s 10 titled chapters appear in the following order: Chapter 1, “Voluntourism,” Chapter 2, “Colorism,” Chapter 3, “Imposter Syndrome,” Chapter 4, “Myth of Meritocracy,” Chapter 5, “Politics of Respectability,” Chapter 6, “Toxic Masculinity,” Chapter 7, “Intersectionality,” Chapter 8, “The Male Gaze,” Chapter 9, “White Fragility,” and Chapter 10, “Decoloniality.” Each chapter could function as its own individual short, personal essay. The chapters begin with the description of a particular concept or theory. Rodríguez then follows these descriptions with a series of her “real lived experiences” (6). She then broadens these anecdotes into cultural commentaries and into lessons for her reader in the chapters’ closing paragraphs. At the same time, the chapters also function as a collective whole. Each chapter’s content builds upon the content of the chapters preceding and following.

The author uses...