A
ruthless and razor-sharp essay collection that tackles the pervasive,
creeping oppression and toxicity that has wormed its way into
society—in our books, schools, and homes, as well as the systems
that perpetuate them—from the acclaimed author of Mean,
and one of our fiercest, foremost explorers of intersectional Latinx
identity.
A
creep can be a singular figure, a villain who makes things go bump in
the night. Yet creep is also what the fog does—it lurks into place
to do its dirty work, muffling screams, obscuring the truth, and
providing cover for those prowling within it.
Creep
is Myriam Gurba’s informal sociology of creeps, a deep dive into
the dark recesses of the toxic traditions that plague the United
States and create the abusers who haunt our books, schools, and
homes. Through cultural criticism disguised as personal essay, Gurba
studies the ways in which oppression is collectively enacted,
sustaining ecosystems that unfairly distribute suffering and
premature death to our most vulnerable. Yet identifying individual
creeps, creepy social groups, and creepy cultures is only half of
this book’s project—the other half is examining how we as
individuals, communities, and institutions can challenge creeps and
rid ourselves of the fog that seeks to blind us.
With
her ruthless mind, wry humor, and adventurous style, Gurba implicates
everyone from Joan Didion to her former abuser, everything from
Mexican stereotypes to the carceral state. Braiding her own history
and identity throughout, she argues for a new way of conceptualizing
oppression, and she does it with her signature blend of bravado and
humility.