Redefining Girly: Chapter Analysis

Society is often seen to have different biases or perspectives on topics such as the role and perception of women. The short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, consists primarily of a catalog of commands and instructions, the purpose of which is to make sure that the mother’s daughter is constantly in check and not getting into any trouble. Jamaica Kincaid utilizes a wide range of techniques such as symbolism and diction in order to showcase the theme of how the depiction of women rely mainly on how they present themselves in the public and how they are so easily described as impure or filthy.

In “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls,” Pollitt writes about the differences between growing up as a boy growing up as a girl. She brings up the stereotypes that society naturally creates between genders in early ages, which leads to the lifestyle and path that boys and girls are raised in. Parents and feminist alike play a big part in establishing these sex roles. They raise their kids wanting them to be successful at what they are expected to be good at based on their gender and the trend that has been set before them.

In Peggy Orenstein’s article, “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”, she analyzes the obsessions young girls have for stereotypical feminine products and toys, such as princesses and the color pink. Orenstein claims that such obsessions have negative effects on girls as they grow into women, restricting them into playing a specific role in adulthood. Although the author expresses much bias, she effectively supports her claims through her positions as a feminists and parent.

In Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl,” the narration of a mother lecturing her daughter with sharp, commanding diction and unusual syntax, both affect the evolution of a scornful tone, that her daughter’s behavior will eventually lead her to a life of promiscuity that will affect the way people perceive her and respect her within her social circle. As well as the fact that it emphasizes expectations for young women to conform to a certain feminine ideal of domesticity as a social norm during this time and the danger of female sexuality.

In today’s generation no matter what gender a person is, they have expectations of society to act like either a “women” or “man”. Back in the day when our parents were growing up it wasn’t the same social standers. Girls didn’t have to deal with such high expectations. Adults usually can’t relate to our situation. In the two essays, Mary Piper’s, “Saplings in the Storm” and Sandra Cisneros “Barbie-Q”, gave a better perspective of girls going through adolescents. During this stage in their life they have to deal with social norms, which pressures girls to compare themselves to others and strive to be an unrealistic model of femininity. This emotional battle to blend in leads to metal distress while not allowing adolescent girl be themselves

In today’s society, the sexualization of young females can seem as the most understated concern. Almost everything sexualizes women to an extent and stopping it at the beginning of the tracks can seem complicated. Through the use of statistical facts and personal stories from affected people, Stephanie Hanes makes an argument that young girls grow up too soon, and effectively convinces her audience that it is a result of sexualization. Hanes makes an appeal on why the first step into this loop involves Disney Princesses and that parent entailment is crucial to a child’s life.

In today’s society, there are many guidelines of how one should act and be. Gender socialization is the process where people take on notions of gender roles, gender ideas and gender behaviours. At an early age, boys and girls are told how to behave and act according to societal norms of gender behaviours and roles. The comparison of Jane Smiley’s article “You Can Never Have too Many” and John McMurty’s , “Kill ‘Em! Crush ‘Em! Eat ‘Em Raw!” provides an insight about how gender socialization is conditioned through toys and sports at an early age. Also teaching and reinforcing stereotypical gender roles through traits, appearances and occupation. (this is an incomplete sentence and it doesn’t flow

From the start the girlchild was given gifts that stained in her mind as what she was suppose to become in life. With the little dolls, GE stoves and irons, and lipstick her parents put this ideal image of the perfect woman in her head. With these types of presents the girlchild is already learning her role in society.

The media, society, and even human nature in itself affect children's decisions in some shape or form. While this can sometimes influence children in a positive way, it also limits children the ability to be free in decision making. In the article, “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls” the author, Katha Pollitt, emphasizes that gender roles and gender stereotypes in children are actually a product of parental influence and society’s influence. It is not children who

This makes readers come to the realization that three year olds are not the best control groups to test theories on.But as the essay continues on, I begin to wonder where else the relationship will take place to further prove Stephanie’s points. I agree that girls try to grow up too quickly, I just feel the relevance to Disney Princesses and this particular fact is not adequately proven in this text. Stephanie uses ethos throughout her work, she cites various credible sources including Princeton University and the American Psychological Association. Diane Levin, an early childhood specialist at Wheelock College in Boston recently co-wrote the book “So Sexy So Soon,” is another supporter of Stephanie’s views that she refers to frequently in the text. She also uses the reports and blogs of the most knowledgeable critiques of young girls, if there ever was one; their mothers. Mothers are the intended audience of this piece and some of the evidence that is used strikes a chord with them.

Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson (Dobson, 2010) is a book written for parents to aid them in traversing the formidable task of successfully guiding a young girl in today’s precarious culture. By strongly identifying many of the perils that threaten today’s girls which are seen as cultural norms, Dobson puts a spotlight on issues like the rampant permeation of media, confusion and ignorance of gender-roles, and a wildly loose view of sex. There is a deep focus throughout the book that addresses the physical, mental, and emotional differences between boys and girls, acknowledging that these specific designs are an intentional variance made by a personal and loving Creator. With a respected background in child development, Dobson thoroughly describes the physiological reasoning behind particular behaviors and tendencies of girls throughout different stages of life. There are also a number of personal stories from the author, as well as others that offer examples of practical application for constructive molding of a healthy child.

In order to properly view a story from a feminist perspective, it is important that the reader fully understands what the feminist perspective entails. “There are many feminist perspectives, and each perspective uses different approaches to analyze and interpret texts. One is that gender is “socially constructed” and another is that power is distributed unequally on the basis of sex, race, and ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexuality, and economic class status” (South University Online, 2011, para. 1). The story “Girl” is an outline of the things young girls

In a world where girls are often sexualized, it is critical for parents to talk to girls about the different stereotypes and messages in society.

As technology has advanced throughout the years, it has shaped and changed many social views in America. One view, for example, is that of little girls, as Stephanie Hanes the author of “little girls or little woman” points out in her article. In the article, she discusses how little girls are being overly sexualized at a young age which can causes several issues. Hanes uses a mother’s personal experience, facts, and statistics to help shine a light on this topic. The author does this by using several writing strategies to successfully accomplish her purpose in convincing parents that society's views on little girls must change.

The next model is the socialization model which says that gender is purely a creation of societal influences. According to this model, children and adolescents learn everything about gender roles from various social influences, including their parents, the media, and by their peer groups. Based on the roles of genders portrayed through these sources, children construct views of what normative behaviors for males and females looks like, and behave accordingly. In Dowd’s article, “What’s a Modern Girl to Do,” the author had two choices about how to behave based on what she learned from various socialization sources.