Vulnerability

Vulnerability involves acknowledging and sharing one’s true self, including perceived weaknesses, despite the risk of hurt and rejection. It matters in relationships (including with oneself) because it deepens trust and intimacy, which then nurtures connection. In her poem “Shedding Skin,” Harryette Mullen characterizes vulnerability as the tender inner self of a speaker used to functioning in the world with a tough exterior. Relying on language related to physical shedding, the poet symbolically evokes the layers of the speaker’s psychological experience. As she peels back these layers of her thick skin, the speaker begins to arrive at a state of vulnerability. Her conscious decision to participate in this process conveys her sense of bodily autonomy and her desire to live authentically.

The speaker was not always willing to risk vulnerability. Beginning in the first stanza, the speaker illustrates her tough exterior as she pulls out...