On the Margins: Intra-Ethnic Othering towards South Asian American Women in Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

This paper aims to explore stereotypes and colorism resulting from the practice of intra-ethnic othering experienced by South Asian American women portrayed in Mira Jacob’s graphic memoir entitled Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations (2019). Retelling her life story as a second-generation immigrant struggling to situate her identity in the broader American society, Jacob draws on her experience being marginalized for being not Indian enough nor light-skinned enough to be regarded as ‘a good Indian woman’. As this practice of othering is often perpetuated by individuals within her own community, her experiences also reflect the complex interactions and power dynamics within the same diaspora. Despite facing discrimination based on her relationship choices and skin tone, she refuses to be confined on the margins and choose to visualize her life story in a graphic memoir as a creative response to resist this intra-ethnic othering. This study concludes that intra-ethnic othering manifested in colorism and stereotypes reflect global hierarchies of race, gender, and power. Hence, this study is expected to provide a deeper insight into the ways in which marginalization, exclusion, and creative adaptation shape individual identities and experiences within diasporic communities.