Piecing Me Together

Through Jade’s character, Piecing Me Together explores how multiple identity categories—race, class, gender, size, ability, and age, among others—come together to form a singular, unique identity. Intersectionality is a particularly important concept when it comes to understanding systems of oppression in the culture—how certain categories of identity privilege some people and disadvantage others. In Piecing Me Together, Watson explores blackness, socioeconomic disadvantage, and girlhood—all identity categories that may subject an individual to systems of oppression. Jade’s relationships with Sam, Maxine, and Lee Lee all draw attention to the ways in which intersectional identity functions, such that the same person can have different, conflicting dynamics with the same person. Jade’s identity is fragmented, with certain pieces that bond her to Sam, Maxine, and Lee Lee, and others that drive her from them.

As African Americans, Jade and Maxine share a common understanding over race, especially as they have both been among the few black students in their classes at St. Francis. However, their socioeconomic differences—Maxine is from an upper-middle-class background, while Jade is from a low-income one—makes their experiences of life vastly different. In contrast, Sam and Jade are both socioeconomically disadvantaged, but Sam’s whiteness makes her oblivious to racial discrimination, as evidenced in Chapter 34 when Sam does not see that bias and stereotypes against black people drove Jade out of the mall store.