The Theme Of Female Sexuality In Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was published in 1978. The entire story has to do with mother talking to the daughter. The daughter does not say much. The subject matter of “Girl” has to do with being a female and how one should act. The theme of female sexuality is used throughout “Girl” to show the danger of female sexuality, power of domesticity, and sexual reputation. First, the theme demonstrates the dangers of female sexuality. In the story, the other is worried about the way her daughter is acting even though she has not hit adolescence yet. She says that if her current behavior continues it will lead to a life of promiscuity. Kincaid wrote, “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (180). She talks about how to have

She calls her daughter a “slut” and wants her to see she is not a boy. She tells her, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys...” (180). She must keep her reputation up. She thinks her daughter already knows too much about sexuality and that she is being disobedient by singing the benna in Sunday school. She wants her daughter to walk and act a certain way. She even teaches her how to talk to men so, they won’t assume that she is promiscuous. In “Girl,” there is different themes throughout the novel but the main one has to do with female sexuality. How a women should act and be seen as respectable. She talks about the dangers of female sexuality because it could ruin her life. She tells how to get the power of domesticity. She also tells her how her daughters sexual reputation should be instead of what it is. Even though female sexuality can be a diverse topic, Kincaid was able to stick to one view of female