“The Poet X” is a book that mostly everyone has read, seen, or heard of before. The book dives into a first-person perspective of a 15-year-old girl named Xiomara (see-oh-MAH-rah). Some of the problems she has are relatable for most teenagers, such as a twin brother she gets annoyed with or a strict mother creating constant battles.
Xiomara struggles with all types of relationships and people throughout the book. Another conflict is Xiomara’s mother, Mami, seemingly hating her as soon as she hit puberty and trying to turn her into a religious figure, which is one of the main conflicts Xiomara battles against throughout the book.
Mami’s radical stance on religion is explicitly shown when she forces it on Xiomara, instilling a fear driven household where children are expected to comply without a say. I think that the author portrays this situation really well in the book, all while storytelling through the form of poetry and Xiomara’s thoughts.
The harassment Xiomara gets because of her body is a hard reality in the world we live in, which the author does really well to shine light on such an uncomfortable topic. Xiomara grows to hate it because of the attention it’s caused her, both from boys and grown men. The fact that Xiomara is so used to the inappropriate and disgusting comments that the men give her sickened me to my core.
Now comparing modern gender roles with the traditional ones displayed in the book, we can see that Xiomara is expected to do all of the household chores alone while her twin is expected to do little to none. This is a common practice of traditional Hispanic households, especially in countries like the Dominican Republic. Though, her twin Xavier does help out with some of her chores in the book.
Xiomara’s mother (born in the Dominican Republic) had been around traditional gender roles her whole life. Like women cleaning while men work their jobs to feed their family, so she naturally enforces these ethics on her kids. This can be damaging to their confidence and personality as well as contribute to the idea that you have no voice and should only do what you’re told. I find that this pushes Xiomara down a dark hole of seclusion and secret keeping. It was really sad and frustrating to me that the mother treated her children in this way.
Xiomara receives constant harassment and sexual abuse from many men regarding her body, which can also contribute to the thought to stay quiet and assume that her voice isn’t relevant as well. We also see themes of Xiomara’s twin, Xavier, staying quiet about his sexuality. I totally think that this is a result of a highly restrictive household built by Mami and no confidence to confide in his there-but-not-there-dad.
Xiomara ends up finding out about Xavier, but her mom never finds out. This type of household idea can be present even in more modernized families and can muffle the voice and freedom of the children. Using your voice is one of the most powerful things you can do in this generation, and households like Xiomara’s work to take that out of them.
Finding courage to use your voice, especially in the repressive environment that Xiomara and Xavier are in, is one of the greatest things to have. No matter who you are.
