The concept of little girls looking up to those like them that have achieved success has been around forever. Everyone longs to see people they can connect to and root for in the news and media. This article reaches out to people of all different skin colors, personalities, genders, and more. I truly believe Roxane Gay’s piece, “I Once Was Miss America”, is important in today’s society, and can relate to a countless number of people in the world. Every single person has had an experience that was shaped based on the way they looked, sounded, or where they come from. It also becomes quite easy to fall into the norm of labeling people as a “Sweet Valley High” type. In reality, there is not one person identical to another, not even the Wakefield twins. As I was reading this piece, the main themes I picked out were bullying and ignorance in societal norms. Even though Gay found ways to connect with her readers through many different characteristics about herself, she managed to separate all of us as well. Each person that read this article is different, and relates to certain traits more than others. I know that while I was reading through, I felt myself nodding at some details, and passing over others that didn’t sound like me. There is no set list of qualities that place a person into a certain group, and I strongly felt that concept through the line, “I was a different kind of American”. If I were to say the word “popular” to a random group of people, each person would think up their own image of someone fitting this criterion, based on the norms in their lives and broadcast in the modern world. I believe these norms are what is tearing the world apart, and turning us against each other. It has been seen more and more in the news with each passing day, and is sad to witness. If everyone in the world were to read this article, I have no doubt that it will be able to bring more of us together. Below, I attached a picture that came to my mind while I was reading this article. We are constantly trying to find those that mirror us in everyday life, and for some, it was easier than others. This picture is meant to start conversation about racial perspective, by flipping and switching the norms we have come to know. I was reminded of Roxane Gay, and how she must have felt throughout her childhood, thinking of herself as “a different kind of American”.
Photo: Courtesy of Chris Buck
