The Sweetness of Race: On Synesthesia, Addiction, and Self-Possessed Personhood in Monique Truong's Bitter in the Mouth

The Sweetness of Race examines the sensorial effects of lexical-gustatory synesthesia in Monique Truong's Bitter in the Mouth (2010). In this documentation of how words taste, whiteness becomes associated with the taste of sugar and its addictive properties. Throughout the novel, whiteness becomes legible as an object of addiction that defends against the failed ideals of self-possessed human personhood-a cornerstone to white supremacy. The novel then reveals opportunities to reorganize the senses and ideas of personhood as a means to disrupt particularly harmful appetites for racialized intimacies.

Automated summary

This article examines the influence of lexical-gustatory synesthesia on the senses through Monique Truong's novel Bitter in the Mouth. It reveals the association between whiteness and the taste of sugar, portraying whiteness as a substance of addiction and defense against the ideals of white supremacy. The novel suggests the possibility of reshaping the senses and ideas of personhood to disrupt harmful desires for racialized intimacies.