Boys And Girls By Alice Munro

“It Was Only a Girl” “It was only a girl” is a statement that previously was accepted in society. With views shifting in society, the distinction between gender and sex widens, and the political correctness of such statements are considered sexist. The emphasis on the liberty to choose one’s own gender is quite relevant in the 21st century; however, the message in the short story “Boys and Girls” (1968) by Alice Munro provides readers with the impression that gender is a biologically predetermined factor causing people of certain sex to have specific qualities and limitations. “Boys and Girls” aligns with Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Boyle’s statement that “literary texts call into question many of our essentialist ideas about gender” for it illustrates the life of an eleven-year-old tomboy who longed to do manly work, who is inherently limited to fulfill such work, and who finds interest in womanly hobbies with age as she initiates into womanhood.
The girl worked tirelessly forking fresh grass of the pens to support her family business and felt prideful as her father introduced her to salesman as a “new hired man” (Munro 147-148). The satisfaction created by this statement implies that the girl is finding fulfillment in becoming a man who can continue the family business of selling fox pelts. The womanly duties did not appeal to the narrator, for she ran out of the house after finishing tasks like peeling fruit, cutting vegetables, or creating jam given to her by her mother (Munro 148). Whether the girl was seeking approval of her father or enjoying herself, she favored the tasks that required physical strength and hated the boring tasks that locked her