Rude Girl

The white German graphic novelist Birgit Weyhe meets Priscilla Layne, an African American professor of German studies. Growing up, Priscilla is too white for her Black classmates, too Black for the white kids. She becomes a rude girl, discovering a community where she feels valued. But how should Birgit Weyhe tell a life story like Priscilla's? At a conference, the graphic novelist Birgit Weyhe is accused of cultural appropriation. Is she exploiting her privileges as a white writer when she tells stories about Black people? She tries a new approach with Priscilla Layne, an African American professor of German studies with Caribbean roots. Growing up, Priscilla is labelled an ‘Oreo’: too white for her Black classmates, too Black for the white kids. By joining the skinhead movement and becoming a rude girl, she discovers a community where she feels valued. Music, clothes, hair, food, class, race, gender, education – her life and identity are a complex composite.