Gender Expectations from Society
Gender Expectations
As far as anyone is concerned, boys and girls have always been different. From the well-known immaturity of a boy and the maturity of a girl to the actual differentiation of sex, it is obvious the difference between the two. Masculinity vs. femininity, the learning process when growing up, and responsibilities are the differences the stories “Boys” by Rick Moody and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid illustrate very well. And as society has its role, it uses these differences to set standards for each gender as for what is expected by them. These standards that are set are very stereotypical, making expectations and gender stereotypes go hand in hand.
The learning process for a boy and a girl as they grow up is very different. In the story “Boys”, how boys learn is illustrated very well. Throughout the whole story, the boys are about doing things and learning from their mistakes. No one teaches them anything, but they learn from life on a trial and error basis. They were left alone to learn by themselves through what life had to offer for them. But the girl from the story “Girl” was taught completely different. She was taught everything by what seemed to be a mother figure. She was taught what to do at a young age while being taught what she would have to do in the future at the same. From how to fold clothes to “…how to bully a man” (Kincaid 201) there was always some one teaching her. And due to this learning process for each gender, responsibilities are set.
Responsibilities are probably the biggest part of growing up. The responsibilities for each gender differentiate greatly. A woman seems to have more responsibilities because she is taught what she must do, and especially if she is maintaining a household. But she knows what to do when it comes time that she has to do it. As for a man, he never stops learning. Life seems to continue going on that trial and error basis. And the responsibilities for him are not that hard until he begins a
As far as anyone is concerned, boys and girls have always been different. From the well-known immaturity of a boy and the maturity of a girl to the actual differentiation of sex, it is obvious the difference between the two. Masculinity vs. femininity, the learning process when growing up, and responsibilities are the differences the stories “Boys” by Rick Moody and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid illustrate very well. And as society has its role, it uses these differences to set standards for each gender as for what is expected by them. These standards that are set are very stereotypical, making expectations and gender stereotypes go hand in hand.
The learning process for a boy and a girl as they grow up is very different. In the story “Boys”, how boys learn is illustrated very well. Throughout the whole story, the boys are about doing things and learning from their mistakes. No one teaches them anything, but they learn from life on a trial and error basis. They were left alone to learn by themselves through what life had to offer for them. But the girl from the story “Girl” was taught completely different. She was taught everything by what seemed to be a mother figure. She was taught what to do at a young age while being taught what she would have to do in the future at the same. From how to fold clothes to “…how to bully a man” (Kincaid 201) there was always some one teaching her. And due to this learning process for each gender, responsibilities are set.
Responsibilities are probably the biggest part of growing up. The responsibilities for each gender differentiate greatly. A woman seems to have more responsibilities because she is taught what she must do, and especially if she is maintaining a household. But she knows what to do when it comes time that she has to do it. As for a man, he never stops learning. Life seems to continue going on that trial and error basis. And the responsibilities for him are not that hard until he begins a