Gender Roles In Boys And Girls, By Alice Munro

In Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls,” our narrator is a young farm girl on the verge of puberty who is learning what it means to be a “girl.” The story shows the differing gender roles of boys and girls – specifically that women are the weaker, more emotional sex – by showing how the adults of the story expect the children to grow into their respective roles as a girl and a boy, and how the children grow up and ultimately begin to fulfill these roles, making the transition from being “children” to being “young adults.”

When we are adolescents we see the world through our parents' eyes.  We struggle to define ourselves within their world, or to even break away from their world.  Often, the birth of our "self" is defined in a moment of truth or a moment of heightened self-awareness that is the culmination of a group of events or the result of a life crisis or struggle.  In literature we refer to this birth of "self" as an epiphany.  Alice Munro writes in "Boys and Girls" about her own battle to define herself.  She is torn between the "inside" world of her mother and the "outside" world of her father.  In the beginning her father's world prevails, but by the finale, her mother's world invades her

Equality between men and women is not always accepted in society. In the previous era, men were seen as the person who had the rights to rule over others and who could work outside the home. But the woman was seen only as a woman from home, she had the responsibility of taking care of the children, doing all household chores and her opinion was never considered. In Alice Munro story “Boys and Girls “, the narrator of the story is a girl who lives on a fox farm with her parents and a younger brother but her character is seen between the conflict with society and her desires because the difference of role that plays each genre.

Since the beginning of time, gender roles have existed in society.  Women were assigned the tasks of child-care and food preparation.  Men performed most activities that required physical strength.  As society progressed, the role of women did not.  Although less emphasis is placed on gender roles today, gender roles still exist. In 1968, Alice Munro wrote, "Boys and Girls" to address the confusion that gender roles may cause in a modern society.

In Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls”, the author explains the transition from being a tomboy girl to becoming a woman. The protagonist is

“Boys and Girls” is a short story, by Alice Munro, which illustrates a tremendous growing period into womanhood, for a young girl living on a fox farm in Canada, post World War II. The young girl slowly comes to discover her ability to control her destiny and her influences on the world. The events that took place over the course of the story helped in many ways to shape her future. From these events one can map the Protagonist’s future. The events that were drawn within the story provided the Protagonist with a foundation to become an admirable woman.

   Recent history boldly notes the protests and political unrest surrounding the Vietnam Conflict during the 1960s and 70s. However, equally important in this era are the women who pushed for gender role reevaluation and publicly rebelled against the established social norm of a woman's "place." Although Alice Munro may not have been burning her bra on the courthouse steps, threads of a feminist influence can be found in "Boys and Girls." Munro's main character, a girl probably modeled after Munro's own childhood experiences on an Ontario farm, faces her awakening body and the challenge of developing her social identity in a man's world. "The girl," an unnamed character, acts as

Alice Munro’s Boys and Girls explored the differences in how boys and girls were treated when growing up in America. As the narrator is getting older, she is realizing that girls are expected to act differently than boys. Today in American society, gender equality has come a long way, but boys and girls are still expected to act different ways and play with different things. Gender equality has changed for the better throughout the years in America, but with the biological differences between males and females, it may be impossible to achieve absolute equality.

In the short story “Boys and Girls,” Alice Munro illustrates a story of a young girl who details her daily life on a fox farm. She describes the roles that men and women are expected to carry out within her life. Her father takes care of the work outside to support the family while her mother stays inside to take care of the house. I chose this passage because it illustrates how gender roles are constructed into one’s mind and implies how these constructs are taught not biological. The girl narrates that growing up she thought the word girl was unmarked of responsibilities like the word child.

Male dominance is a persisting issue in society, and it has been for a very long time. In response to male dominance came feminism, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes” (Oxford Living Dictionaries). Through a feminist lens, Alice Munro’s short story, “Axis” provides a strong portrayal of the injustices that a feminist would stand for. It illustrates a sense of male dominance, as well as female responses to male dominance in an older form of Canadian society. These concepts are revealed through various situations in the story that address the lack of respect for the education of a female, the disregard of a woman’s opinion, and the idea that females have adjusted to their position in society.

The definition of gender roles is a set of societal norms dictating what types of behavior is generally considered acceptable based on the gender of a person. Additionally, if you don’t seem to accept this standard, there can be huge consequences. For example, in India, women are viewed as a burden and a “extra mouth to feed.” Her status promotes the idea that men can treat them in a subdued manner. If they don’t comply to these requirements, then a woman is murdered by her husband or his family by being set alight by a flammable liquid, which is usually known as bride burning. Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, also uncovers the harsh inequality of women. Gender roles shouldn’t be real and they were forced on us by society.

People are shaped by the external forces that act upon them. They can choose whether or not to accept the pressure and conform to them or they can reject it altogether, further reinforcing their original traits. Sometimes these external forces are too substantial for the individual to handle and they have no choice but to conform and submit to these forces. In the short story “Boys and Girls”, written by Alice Munro the protagonist begins to discover that society plays an important role in the shaping of a one's character and personality. In her childhood, the protagonist exhibits a very unorthodox nature as she prefers to do manual labour alongside her father rather than residing in her house doing more domestic tasks. As the protagonist

her father tries to change who she is and force her into a gender role

In an early childhood classroom there are plenty of materials for the children to play with. Some items include dolls, dress up clothes, paint, blocks, and cars. There are also options for the children to play outside. So, what if a boy in the classroom decides that they want to play house with a baby doll or maybe dress up as a princess? Or maybe a girl decides she would rather get dirty and play monster than play dolls. Those children would be going against the typical general roles for boys and girls.

Alice Munro composed a brilliant bildungsroman set during the 1940’s in rural Ontario. The narrator, Del, explores her mind and body as she blossoms into womanhood while being influenced by many different people throughout her life. However, the overarching societal pressures continuously offer obstacles to Del’s development and independence. Fortunately, the final pages of the novel offer a positive and bright future for Del as an author. Virginia Woolf presents, in her essay A Room of One’s Own, that a woman would need financial stability and a place of her own in order to be a successful writer. Using this lens creates an interesting view of many of the women who had an influence on Del’s future, and offers a unique insight into why Del is able to pursue her future.