The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1984) famously wrote: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” What de Beauvoir means here is that gender is not a natural fact, but is a social construction. Society makes women. Gender is learned behavior.
How is the social construction of gender revealed in the stories “Boys and Girls” and “Girl”? Focus on a particular example from “Boys and Girls” and find a quote to back it up.
It seemed that in Boys & Girls, guys didnt expect women to do work rather than to cook clean, even though i feel like that is most stories during this time. "Could of fooled me." said the salesman. "I thought it was only a girl." This sentence makes it seem like the salesman thought as the mans "New Hired Hand" as a Boy.
ReplyDeleteThe way in which social construction of gender is revealed in "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro is when the narrator’s grandmother comes to visit. While she is there, she hears her grandmother say "Girls don't slam doors like that. Girls keep their knees together when they sit down" and when the narrator had asked questions, the grandmother replies “That’s none of girls' business.” Girls are taught how to be ladies simply because it does not come naturally to them. Even though her mother gave her a job in the kitchen to “peel the peaches or cut up onions” she would escape before her mother had asked her to do anything else. Doing the typical woman job and staying in the house was boring for her and she hated it. When the father introduces his “new hired hand” the salesman replies “Could of fooled me, I thought it was only a girl”. Girls in those times we’re not taught to work the fields like men did, because it was not a job for them to do. They had to be ladies and worry about household duties.
ReplyDeleteIn the story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, we see how girls are taught how to do everything within a house to walking in the streets and in how to behave. “This is how you set the table for dinner with an important guest” “Behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming.” This is serious. Everything was broken down for them. They had to wash a certain way cook a certain way because this is what a lady does, this is how society makes a woman based on their gender. A woman is one who behaves and makes a decent dress so they will not be seen as a slut. A slut is not what a woman is. Society makes them woman and how they ought to be one. Not how to be a slut. A lot of social construction of gender is revealed through “Boys and Girls” and “Girl”
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Wrote the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir on gender roles. An apt quote on the context of gender roles,. Gender roles and behaviors are a tedious construction of the ways of society and is a learned behavior rather than an innate quality of a person. This idea of social construction of gender is portrayed in “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro and “Girls” by Jamaica Kincaid.
ReplyDeleteIn “Boys and Girls”, Munro introduces the idea of social construction of gender, when the protagonist, here a little girl, unaware of gender difference begins to come across slight remarks on her ability or rather inability due to the simple fact that she was a girl. The salesman on hearing that her father had a helping hand condescendingly comments, “Could of fooled me/ I thought it was only a girl.” To add to that, her mother who relentlessly tried to keep her indoors states “Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you’ll have a real help.” Implying that the girl’s service in the farm was of no real substance. With constant reiterations on how a girl should be and how a girl should conduct herself, the protagonist begins to have an unconscious transformation, which is depicted by her dreams, which alters from her being an adventurous hero to the damsel being saved.
Kincaid in “girls” blatantly lists out all the requirements of what a “girl” should do or shouldn’t do, and by naming a bunch of it she very clearly shows how girls through these many different requirements are molded into their gender and are indoctrinated consciously or not, into this very specific role in the play of life.
The stories "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro and "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid both discuss the social construction of women and their roles in society. "Girl" takes a more direct approach boldly telling girls how they should and should not act in many different scenarios from how they should eat to how they should sit, while "Boys and Girls" shows the evolution of a young girl who started out as someone that didn't care about the mold of women but as she grew up she grew into this mold without realizing it. "A story might start out in the old way . . . Girls under the arms" This shows how she was being marginalized by societies expectations of what a girl ought to be.
ReplyDeleteIn Girl she had to deal with keeping up with her mannerisms on how a female should act but in Boys and Girls the evolution of this young girl not caring about gender roles to having to confine to these standards later shows us the expectations of society I completely agree with you.
DeleteEquality between men and women in the early1900s was uncommon. While the woman had to be obedient and stay home to do house chores; the men were the dominant ones and were working outside. The short story “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro, had many examples of inequality. The unnamed daughter was unaware of gender role. She helped her father only because her brother Larid was too young. She enjoyed working outside with her dad then inside with her mother. “I hated the hot dark kitchen in the summer”
ReplyDeleteThe women in her life, always reminded her that her duties were at home to help her mother. They made her realize that society views girls different than boys. Her mother explained, “Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you’ll have a real help” as if her work wasn’t good enough because she was a girl. Her grandmother’s constant reminders on how a girl should behave. “Girls keep their knees together when they sit down.” And “Girls don’t slam doors like that.” Nonetheless, she continued to do the opposite.
The short story “Girl” is a to do list for a young female. Her mother is giving her list of advice. She must worries about her daughter becoming a woman. She hardly lets her daughter respond to her and keeps giving her a nonstop list of things to do or know. The list consists of household chores of sewing, sweeping, laundry, and cooking. The list even had how to behave around men. “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” This is a typical list that a mother would give her daughter back in the 1900s.
The social construction of gender revealed in the story "Boys and Girls" is that girls are suppose to be housewives and do the house work and always be inside the house. As we all know in this time period women couldn't do what men do for example working on the field. When the grandmother came to visit the family it says "Girls don't slam doors like that." " Girls keep their knees together when they sit down"And worse still, when I asked some questions, that none of girls business." (26) Here we see that girls have to be very much lady like and whiling reading the mother of the girl is tried of being home and feels like she wants to escape and see what is behind the four walls. In "Girls" they learn how to behave especially when men come over and they don't know them that well and how to walk on the streets. It's says "prevent yourself from looking like a slut I know you are so bent on becoming." Which is something is repeated serveral times in the story and the girls are learning to do what girls should do while they are in the presence of men
ReplyDeleteThe way social construction of gender is revealed in the story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro is that there is a little girl who wants to do things with her father that is more of a manly job but doesn't get to since she is a female. Her mother has her home learning and understanding the concepts of being a woman by giving her household duties to complete. While on the other hand she has a brother named Laird who was able to do what he wanted to and didn't have to sit around all day inside of the house cleaning and cooking because he was a male. This connects to what Simone de Beauvior said about gender roles since at the time woman were the ones staying in all day since they wouldn't be able to work like men could. Basically, men had more power within the society than women when it came to working and enjoying outdoors. In this story gender is learned behavior since she had to be home everyday completing the same duties and couldn't have the chance to do what she pleased since she is a female which is unfair in her eyes. Also because she noticed that she is basically the secondary importance since males are always the head of the household and they always have the chance to enjoy what they want since they weren't limited to rules like women are. For example in the story when her grandmother comes to visit and she says "Girls don’t slam doors like that.” “Girls keep their knees together when they sit down.” And worse still, when she asked her grandmother some questions, she replied, “That’s none of girls’ business.” This quote shows how women are told what to do and they have to follow them no matter what because if they didn't they would look wrong and can cause a bad representation of being a woman. In the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, it shows the social construction of gender because in the story there is a mother who is guiding her daughter about how to live as an adult woman, and many of her comments comprise practical advice. On the other hand while her mother is showing her how to live as woman she is truly doing all of this because she doesn't want her daughter to come out as a slut. She wants her daughter to be raised as a lady that has respect for herself and can be independent and just worry about her own life. In addition this shows how society can create different types of women but it all depends on how a girl is raised by her parents and how she is taught to be smart and independent so she can be a successful woman.
ReplyDeleteIn Boys and Girls, the social construction was revealed through the change of how the little girl thought. She once never thought about her appearance or being attractive or boys. But she started to realize that that what "girls" must do. She also sub-consciously started to think differently... Instead of being the heroine she wanted someone to save her specifically a male. When her father someone she poked up to and always wanted to be his right hand man said,"Never mind.. She's only a girl" she had finally accepted and became what society created.
ReplyDeleteIn Girl, IT was much more straightforward. It listed what I think was things a girl is told and must remember which sounds bit accurate today also. I mean both stories can be true today. I think girl shows how ridiculous all this expectation is for girls to know. "This is how you smile to someone you don't like to much;this is how you smile to someone you don't like at all; this is how to smile to someone you like completely" this made me laugh but then I saw the reality of this social construction of a GIRL.
Within this short story, social construction played an integral part as to what boys and girls were expected to do. However, the matter of you being a boy or being a girl did not play a factor in what the individual may find complete joy in doing. The things that a girl was expected to do, the girl did not believe in such duties and in hand hated them. She preferred working in the fields and doing work with her father. The boy, he was expected to do work and manual labor around the house with the father, yes he did do that but not much because of his age at the time. The quote, "That's none of girls business." refers to the fact that society has already carved out the rules and expectations of each gender. Even if you are a specific gender but do not conform to the expectations of society, you are looked upon differently or even judged. This short story displays very well these issues not only faced in their era, but also issues that are still present in our present time. It can be said it more acceptable in a sense, but at the same time not truly and completely accepted by everyone.
ReplyDeleteIn the story "Boys and Girls" the gender of the kids doesn't seem to play a factor in everyday life just yet. When the father needs help outside he uses his daughter because she is the oldest. The mother then gets upset because she needs help around the house. The daughter over hears the mother saying to the father "wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you'll have a real help...I just get my back turned and she runs off. It's not like I had a girl in the family at all". What the mother is saying is her daughter belongs in the house and once the son gets older he can help the father, but for right now it feels like she doesn't have a daughter because she prefers to do the men work. The story "Girl" is a list of social rules that women were supposed to follow so they wouldn't be labeled sluts, and if they didn't follow them they were called sluts.
ReplyDeleteThe story, "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro is good in showing us how in fact gender is a social construction rather than an natural principle of the human species. What does it mean to be a woman or a man? How can something so external such as gander, be the thing that defines how we carry ourselves and how we live? To the girl. this was something that never really made sense because she was girl but she was like all the others. As a child she wasn't old enough to understand what it means to be a woman and all the things that being one implies. The girl says, "A girl was not. as I had supposed, simply what I was, it was what I had to become" (26). In other words, a woman is not a complete woman without fulfilling or doing what others say she needs to be. This is a rather easy concept to grasp, you cannot be a woman if you don't do what women do, but even if you do, you can never be on the same plane of existing as a man. Nonetheless, it is also important to note that the same thing is established for men. The need to be strong, to be muscular and aggressive even to the expense of their true feelings just because they need to fulfill the role that was created for them.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious to us however, that women have less room to be themselves or simply just to be, to exist because they have to constantly be enduring and appropriating the things that society tells them they need to do.
While reading the story "boys and girls" I noticed that the girl in the story enjoyed working in the farm and helping her father with hard labor, I don't think it really crossed her mind that she wasn't able to do it or she wasn't supposed to do it because she was a girl, what I did notice from the adults though that I think is a clear example of gender being a social construction, was that her dad allowed her to help because her brother wasn't old enough, it almost seemed like she was only allowed to do the work because they he had no other choice. There was an occasion when her mom made a comment saying that once the boy was old enough then the dad would have a "real" worker and the girl would be able to join her inside the home, doing things that girls are supposed to do. I also thought it was really important when she asked a question about what was happening and her grandma “That’s none of girls' business.” it almost makes it seem like a girl is supposed to be some sort of ornament and shouldn't try to give her opinion in conversations or even know what is being talked about. In the story "Girl" we pretty much get a list of expectations that a girl is supposed to meet in order to be a proper lady, in this story is seems like she's never asked for her opinion of these things that her mom demands of her and it clearly doesn't seem to come out naturally for her.
ReplyDeleteThe social construction of gender was revealed in the stories “Boys and Girls” and “Girl”. In "Boys and Girls" she becomes aware of herself due to her father saying "she's only a girl" at that moment she realized the approval she was once looking for her father is no longer there she realized at that point that she would be exactly like her mother working inside of the house instead of working outside with her dad. In "Girl" she basically had to follow the rules of how a female should be and not do things that are not ladylike. She had to cook and clean and attend church on Sunday and not sing songs that are not Godly while in church and she even had to dress a certain way or people would judge her for being fast. "This is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way you won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming."
ReplyDelete--Shanelle Hunter
ReplyDeleteSocial construction of gender is revealed in the story Boys and Girls by Alice Munro because girl who is being raised at a farm with her parents. Has a father who is farmer and he has a meat house where he skins horses. Which in fact the daughter helps her father sometimes, the mother dislikes that for the daughter to do because for the simple fact that she is a “girl”. The mother believes she should stay inside the house because all she knows that women are to stay inside the house and men stay outside doing most of the dirty work. Which is a gender role created by society for many years. But the girl likes being a boy and when she is confronted by her family members about her actions. This quote shows that “Girls don’t slam doors like that.” “Girls keep their knees together when they sit down” “I continued to slam the doors and sit as awkwardly as possible, thinking that by such measures I kept myself free”. The girl in this quote still continues to act like a boy and does not care what about what her family says she should act like a girl instead of a boy.
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Wrote the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir on gender roles. What I think Beauvoir means by this is that the roles we associate with women are not given to them in birth, by virtue of their biology, but rather are socially constructed. Women are taught what they’re supposed to be in life, what kind of roles they can or can’t perform in virtue of being of "the second sex." Today we might express this idea using the distinction between sex and gender, where one’s sex is just a biological fact, but one’s gender identity is socially constructed.
ReplyDeleteReading the short story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, I noticed that it had many examples of inequality. The unnamed daughter was unaware of gender role. She enjoyed helping her father with hard labor in the farm and her father allowed her to only because her brother Larid was too young. She preferred working outside rather than inside with her mother. “I hated the hot dark kitchen in the summer”. I don't think it really crossed her mind that she wasn't able to do it or she wasn't supposed to do it because she was a girl, what I did notice from the adults was a clear example of gender being a social construction. Although towards the end "shes only a girl" made her realized she should be doing work inside. In "Girl" the mother stated rules the girl had to follow and/or do. Such as cooking, cleaning, how to sew on a button, attend church on Sundays, dress a certain way. She had to know how to serve the table for every occasion, how to behave with men and how to bully them as well. "Be sure to wash everyday, even if it is with your own spit; don't squat down to play marbles -- you are not a boy, you know;" Basically this girl has to follow these girls rules her mother warns her constantly about not becoming a slut because no one would want to be around her, and constantly throwing rules to her so she knows well that she is a girl not a boy.
I agree with your response I think you used a good example.
DeleteI agree with your response I think you used a good example.
DeleteWhen the father introduces his “new hired hand” the salesman replies “Could of fooled me, I thought it was only a girl”. The statement could have fooled me" shows how our society look down upon women who take on so called "men" job and responsibilities. Its placing a role on males and females without looking at the bigger picture which is that we as people are all individuals first then we are who we want to be not what society says we are
ReplyDelete“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” What de Beauvoir means here is that gender is not a natural fact, but is a social construction. Society makes women. Gender is learned behavior. In the story "Boys and Girls" the social construction of gender shows that the girls were never as strong or as powerful as the boys/men were. They didn't appreciate the women much, nor did they feel females can do a job just as good as a male. When the salesman said "could of fooled me, I thought it was only a girl." this shows that the men looked at women as if they had no value.
ReplyDelete“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” What de Beauvoir means here is that gender is not a natural fact, but is a social construction. Society makes women. Gender is learned behavior. In the story "Boys and Girls" the social construction of gender shows that the girls were never as strong or as powerful as the boys/men were. They didn't appreciate the women much, nor did they feel females can do a job just as good as a male. When the salesman said "could of fooled me, I thought it was only a girl." this shows that the men looked at women as if they had no value.
ReplyDeleteBOYS AND GIRLS
ReplyDeleteIn Alice Munro's short story, the main character and narrator described the life of a young girl growing up in a fox farm along with her younger brother Laird. From the beginning of the story we learned that the young girl prefers to be outside working with her father, carrying water and cutting long grass that grew in between the pens rather than working or even spending time with her mother as shown in the following quote: “I was given jobs to do and I would sit at the table peeling peaches that had been soaked in hot water, or cutting onions, my eyes smarting and streaming. As soon as I was done I ran out the house, trying to get out of earshot before my mother thought of what she wanted me to do next." She loved her freedom and was proud to help her dad. At some point even her dad was aware of how helpful she was : "one time a feed salesman came down into the pens to talk to him and my father said ,"Like to have meet my new hired hand " I turned away and ranked furiously, red with pleasure. “Could of fooled me “said the sales man. "I thought it was only a girl."
In these two quotes we can notice how from the beginning this young girl prefers what is considered to be a man's job rather than staying with her mother to do house chores, also she keeps in mind profoundly the words said by the sales man :"I thought it was only a girl" this a perfect example of the general idea of social construction , it didn't just made the young girl wonder her social status based on her gender but it seemed that it influenced her dad to say the same sentence ,probably referring to gender or maybe referring to " girl " as in "child", right after her brother Laird tell on her how he witnessed her letting the female horse (that was meant to be killed to feed the foxes) run away, causing her to dad to work even harder for the night.
It is probable that this rebellion was a result of social construction and psychological pressure based on the rules given to her to follow and the expected behavior of a "girl". The lack of importance given to her work by the sales man and her mother and the critique and constant supervised behavior by her grandmother seemed to have determined her gender. Giving in conclusion that: "One is not born, but rather becomes a woman" (Simone de Beauvoir)
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
ReplyDeleteWe live in a society where before we are born our sex and role in society is already classified. Before we know the sex of the baby we go out and buy neutral things for the baby knowing that the baby can be either a boy or a girl. But when we later learn the sex of the baby we begin to pick and choose what items are suitable for a girl and what items are suitable for a boy. Then when we are born and we begin to see the world for ourselves and encounter different situations in life we as humans begin to pick on different personalities and different roles in society. Gender is something constructed by people to identify people and their role in society. In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", the unnamed daughter, who is also the main character, knew she was a girl but she was also unaware of gender roles. She enjoyed things that was considered a "man's job" and didn't understand why women wasn't allowed or better yet couldn't do the same things that guys were able to do. She enjoyed helping her father in the barn and the things he did. She would hurry up and do the chores in the kitchen with her mother but as soon as she was done she would run to the barn with her father. "It seemed to me that work in the house was endless, dreary, and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important" (25). Here we see that the daughter found house work, which is the job women are suppose to do, boring and enjoyed the work done with her father. She is told that women must stay and work in the house. She was faced with expectations of what a girl should be like and what she should do or not do.
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
ReplyDeleteWe live in a society where before we are born our sex and role in society is already classified. Before we know the sex of the baby we go out and buy neutral things for the baby knowing that the baby can be either a boy or a girl. But when we later learn the sex of the baby we begin to pick and choose what items are suitable for a girl and what items are suitable for a boy. Then when we are born and we begin to see the world for ourselves and encounter different situations in life we as humans begin to pick on different personalities and different roles in society. Gender is something constructed by people to identify people and their role in society. In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", the unnamed daughter, who is also the main character, knew she was a girl but she was also unaware of gender roles. She enjoyed things that was considered a "man's job" and didn't understand why women wasn't allowed or better yet couldn't do the same things that guys were able to do. She enjoyed helping her father in the barn and the things he did. She would hurry up and do the chores in the kitchen with her mother but as soon as she was done she would run to the barn with her father. "It seemed to me that work in the house was endless, dreary, and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important" (25). Here we see that the daughter found house work, which is the job women are suppose to do, boring and enjoyed the work done with her father. She is told that women must stay and work in the house. She was faced with expectations of what a girl should be like and what she should do or not do.