"Boys and Girls"
Alice Munro's piece about gender roles in the family was not particularly my favorite to read. From the very beginning with the descriptions of skinning the foxes, I knew it was going to be difficult to read. Although I know our main goal when reading these pieces is to identify their relevance to what we are discussing in class, it was very hard for me to get past the blood and guts. When I learned that this girl's father would kill and use horse meat to feed the fox, I lost any interest in wanting to learn more, and moved it to the least favorite category. But I understand this is all part of life, and I must deal with reading things I might not particularly like. The young girls' adversity to the kitchen did not particularly strike me as odd, yet at the same time was not something I could relate to either. Today I believe we would refer to someone like her as a "tomboy." As I write out, (and label her a tomboy), I realize I am falling into society's gender classification. Since she did not prefer playing with dolls and working in the kitchen with her mother, she an no longer be viewed as a girl with different interests. Instead we jump to concluding she is "odd" and label her with a name that pretty much calls her a "boy wanna-be". Whether or not this I right, it is how our culture works. I personally have always been interested in the role "as a woman," although I never let this hold me back from playing sports or trying different activities. For me it has always been about balance, but if I could have my way in the story...you could find me in the kitchen
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