Why are boys and girls judged and treated unequally? Is it because of their attitudes and perspectives, their physical appearance, or simply their gender? In the short story “Boys and Girls”, the Narrator faces inequality, underestimations, and pity by society because of her gender. First of all, the young girl experiences the inequality imposed by her relatives. The young girl always looks up to her father “and worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride” (pg. 48-49) but did not like doing duties considered womanly. The Narrator points out, “My mother was too tired and preoccupied to talk to me … sweat trickled over her face and she was always counting under her breath, pointing at jars … It seemed to me that work in the house …show more content…
An example of the girl’s mother underestimating her is when her mother tells her father, “Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you’ll have a real help” (pg.50). The young girl’s mother believes that her daughter cannot help out as much her son, Laird. It also indicates that Laird is much more superior to the Narrator because she says “real help”, therefore implying that the young girl cannot help her father as much as her son. Even though a boy is more physically strong than a girl, it does not mean that a girl cannot help at all. Even a small help will always help. The Narrator also states, “A girl was not, as I had supposed … It was a definition, always touched with emphasis, reproach and disappointment. Also, it was a joke on me” (pg. 52). The Narrator realizes that a being a girl drew a lot “emphasis”, meaning that the Narrator was given special importance. However, at the same time she notices that being a girl also drew “reproach and disappointment”, meaning that the Narrator was always looked and addressed with disapproval. The reproach and disappointment by society implies that the Narrator, as a young girl, is not substantially important as boys, like her brother Laird. In the modern society, many people categorize girls and women inferior to boys and men. Examples of these inferiority include, “You throw a ball like a girl”, and other sexual