Summary

How to Be Docile is a list of 22 commands to follow in order for a black girl to become a docile woman. They include hiding her emotions, relaxing her posture, never questioning men, shaming menstruation, instructing her on the virtues of beauty instead of brains, being grateful to men, not striving for success, suppressing sexuality, becoming small and diminutive, and finally abjectly docile. In The Stranger At the Carnival, Jerkins reflects on the fun house mirrors and how they distort bodies, made to look curvy and ridiculous (33). She remembers when she was three years old, her mother took her to a salon for her first perm. She recalls the pain and burning sensation her scalp felt. She grew up "learning about 'good' and 'bad' hair," while natural hair was considered bad hair (34). Although it was...