What will I learn about: Learn why mainstream feminism falls short and how an inclusive, intersectional approach that also fights racism and capitalism is essential to truly defeating the patriarchy?

Learn why mainstream feminism falls short and how an inclusive, intersectional approach that also fights racism and capitalism is essential to truly defeating the patriarchy.

What will I learn about: how the sociological concept of 'thick description' empowers Black women to embrace their complex identities and accurately critique the society they live in?

Discover how the sociological concept of 'thick description' empowers Black women to embrace their complex identities and accurately critique the society they live in.

What will I learn about: why marginalized and low-income individuals invest in expensive status symbols as necessary tools to overcome harsh societal judgments and access critical opportunities?

Understand why marginalized and low-income individuals invest in expensive status symbols as necessary tools to overcome harsh societal judgments and access critical opportunities.

What will I learn about: Recognize the inherent privilege in public media that grants white men prestigious platforms to discuss mundane topics while historically excluding the vital perspectives of women of color?

Recognize the inherent privilege in public media that grants white men prestigious platforms to discuss mundane topics while historically excluding the vital perspectives of women of color.

What will I learn about: how the compounding effects of racism, classism, and patriarchy subject Black women to unique societal disadvantages, ranging from biased beauty standards to punishing social policies?

Find out how the compounding effects of racism, classism, and patriarchy subject Black women to unique societal disadvantages, ranging from biased beauty standards to punishing social policies.

Thick

And Other Essays

Tressie McMillan Cottom

★ 4.2 / 5(37 ratings)

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Society & Culture Biography & Memoir

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why our modern standards of beauty are actually a byproduct of a complex system of capitalism and racial power?
💡Did you know that even for high-achieving Black women, the intersection of status and race can lead to life-altering paradoxes in healthcare and beyond?
💡Are you curious about what it really means to be 'thick'—not just physically, but as a way of navigating the dense social and political layers of contemporary America?

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Key Takeaways from Thick

✓Learn why mainstream feminism falls short and how an inclusive, intersectional approach that also fights racism and capitalism is essential to truly defeating the patriarchy.
✓Discover how the sociological concept of 'thick description' empowers Black women to embrace their complex identities and accurately critique the society they live in.
✓Understand why marginalized and low-income individuals invest in expensive status symbols as necessary tools to overcome harsh societal judgments and access critical opportunities.
✓Recognize the inherent privilege in public media that grants white men prestigious platforms to discuss mundane topics while historically excluding the vital perspectives of women of color.
✓Find out how the compounding effects of racism, classism, and patriarchy subject Black women to unique societal disadvantages, ranging from biased beauty standards to punishing social policies.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Thick

Mind Map

Thick

Concept of 'Thickness'+

Class & Status Symbols+

Public Discourse Bias+

Medical Racism+

Resilience of White Privilege+

The 'Special Black' Myth+

Adultification & Abuse+

Weaponized Beauty Standards+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9

According to the text, why is intersectionality necessary for a truly inclusive feminism?

A. It prioritizes gender above all other forms of identity.
B. It replaces capitalism with a matriarchal economic system.
C. It considers how class and racial oppression intersect with the oppression of women.
D. It focuses exclusively on the experiences of wealthy women.

Question 2 of 9

How does Tressie McMillan Cottom apply the social science concept of 'thick description' to her own life and writing?

A. She applies it to write purely objective, data-driven academic papers without personal bias.
B. She uses her position as a 'thick' Black woman as a complex lens to understand and reveal the context of society.
C. She uses it to physically describe the people she encounters in academic settings.
D. She uses it to conform to mainstream literary expectations and avoid being labeled as 'too academic.'

Question 3 of 9

Why do poor and marginalized people, particularly Black women, often spend money on expensive status symbols?

A. To signal belonging and gain access to essential opportunities and benefits.
B. To reject the cultural norms and expectations of their local communities.
C. To prove they are financially superior to their white male counterparts.
D. To compensate for a lack of formal education in professional settings.

Question 4 of 9

What does the author's example of David Brooks's column about sandwiches illustrate regarding public discourse?

A. Food journalism is a field predominantly controlled by conservative writers.
B. Black women prefer to write about political topics rather than everyday life.
C. Prestige publications only publish articles that are heavily researched and academic.
D. White men are given ample space to write about mundane topics, while Black women are largely excluded.

Question 5 of 9

What underlying issue explains why Black women, including wealthy ones like Serena Williams, experience alarmingly high rates of maternal mortality?

A. Black women are statistically more likely to reject modern medical interventions.
B. The medical system lacks the technological advancements needed to treat rare conditions.
C. Intersecting oppressions cause medical professionals to perceive Black women as incompetent regarding their own bodies.
D. Wealthy Black women are often targeted by medical staff for financial exploitation.

Question 6 of 9

According to McMillan Cottom, what did the election of Barack Obama reveal about white privilege in America?

A. It proved that white privilege had been completely dismantled in the political sphere.
B. It showed that white privilege is flexible and allowed white voters to feel progressive without changing structures of inequality.
C. It demonstrated that racial progress is only possible when led by conservative politicians.
D. It showed that white voters were finally willing to give up their economic advantages for minority groups.

Question 7 of 9

What is the danger of society labeling high-achieving African Americans as 'special Black'?

A. It forces high-achieving Black people to give up their academic careers to prove their authenticity.
B. It creates unnecessary competition between African immigrants and white students in Ivy League schools.
C. It reinforces the idea that 'regular' African Americans are unworthy of opportunity and deserve to be disenfranchised.
D. It causes Ivy League universities to lose their prestige by lowering their admission standards.

Question 8 of 9

Why are Black girls more vulnerable to sexual abuse, according to the research cited in the book?

A. Society perceives them as more adultlike and needing less protection than their white peers.
B. They are more likely to engage in dangerous extracurricular activities.
C. The criminal justice system prioritizes their cases over white girls' cases, exposing them to more trauma.
D. They are statistically less likely to have strong female role models in their communities.

Question 9 of 9

How did Miley Cyrus's 2013 VMA performance demonstrate the function of mainstream beauty standards?

A. It showed that mainstream media was finally embracing Black cultural dances like twerking.
B. It proved that large-bodied Black women are now considered the ideal standard of beauty in pop culture.
C. It highlighted the economic disparities between backup dancers and lead singers in the music industry.
D. It used Black female bodies as props to contrast with and consolidate white, thin privilege.

Thick — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Thick description lets Tressie McMillan Cottom fully embrace her unique position and clearly expose the world she inhabits around her today.
3Poor people purchase status symbols to belong, and to secure access to opportunities and essential life openings.
4White men receive extra space in public discourse, not for merit, but simply because they are, indeed, white men alone.
5Racism, sexism, and classism cast Black women as incompetent.
6Whatever the political moment, white privilege always defiantly defends itself.
7High-achieving Black people are routinely deemed 'special Black' instead of ordinary African Americans by others.
8Black girls face higher abuse risks because they are perceived as adultlike by many.
9Beauty standards uphold white privilege by excluding Blackness.

Thick Summary & Overview

Thick: And Other Essays (2019) is a collection of essays by author Tressie McMillan Cottom that centers on the experiences of African American women. Drawing on her own lived experience as well as that of others, McMillan Cottom’s smart, incisive prose provides a fresh perspective on topics as varied as race, beauty, politics, and capitalism, and sheds light on the most pressing issues of today. Part sociological tract, part polemic, the book reveals the brutal and often absurd paradoxes of modern-day America.

Who Should Listen to Thick?

Feminists interested in deeper insight into the experiences of Black women
Activists who want to learn more about the current state of racial inequity
Social scientists and academics interested in current affairs

About the Author: Tressie McMillan Cottom

Tressie McMillan Cottom is an associate professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the author of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy, and her essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Slate, and the Washington Post, among others. In 2019, her book Thick: And Other Essays was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Thick

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Thick — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Thick

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Thick — Full Chapter Overview

Thick Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Thick?

About the Author: Tressie McMillan Cottom

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