Gender RolesTo Kill a Mockingbird

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Create Your Own ListWhat kinds of messages are conveyed when you hear “Be a man”? Be tough (physically, mentally,

emotionally)

What kinds of messages are conveyed when you hear “Act like a lady”? Wear a dress

What kinds of messages did you come up with in your t-chart?

Gender Roles Defined

Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. The definitions of masculine and feminine stem from these social understandings.

While various socializing agents—parents, teachers, peers, movies, television, music, books, and religion—teach and reinforce gender roles throughout the lifespan, parents probably exert the greatest influence, especially on their very young offspring.

Women in the 1930s Women were discriminated against in Alabama in the

1930s. They had only been granted the right to vote in 1920

and were not allowed to serve on juries. They were not expected to have a career but to get

married and have children. Women were expected to follow stricter moral and

behavioural codes than men. Despite these societal expectations, some women

were determined to maintain the liberties that were handed to them during WWI. For example, many wondered why men had to replace women in jobs that they were capable to doing. (WWI era)

Women in the 1930s While there were many

obstacles for women in the 30s, there were also many women who were challenging the gender role norm.

Amelia Earhart set the woman’s flying world record in 1930.

Pearl S Buck, an American writer, wrote The Good Earth, which was the best selling novel in the USA in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1935.

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Scout Scout is called a tomboy throughout the novel. Most women in her

community critique how she speaks, dresses and plays. Can you blame her for wanting to be a tomboy?

Jem often tells her that girls are “hateful” and “embarrassing” and “frivolous”.

What’s worse is when Dill begins to spend time with Jem and Scout in the summer, he begins to treat Scout like an object. “He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it. He staked me out, marked as his property, said I was the only girl, said I was the only girl he would ever love, then he neglected me.” (chapter 5)

Throughout the novel, Scout consistently rejects the notion of women as property and the expectation that she follow rules a, b, and c in order to be a woman.

In chapter 24 you will read about how Scout feels in regard to “becoming a lady”

Gender Roles The following words are

associated with males in the novel. How do these words 'construct' the novel's presentation of male gender?

wise 

not highly

critical 

cuss 

drink 

gamble 

chew 

undelectable 

likeable

Now, let’s write a list of words associated with women in the novel.

Hateful

Embarrassing

Frivolous

How do these words 'construct' the novel's presentation of female gender?

Addressing Gender Norms Today Societal prejudices toward gender were not just deeply

rooted in the past

What “gender boxes” exist today for children?

GoldieBlox Commercial

The Mask You Live In - Documentary Trailer

In each of these videos, how are gender norms being challenged? What connections can you make to the novel?

Reading Extension

Read the article: “Princesses and superheroes: the consequences of gender roles”

Link to article