FEMINISM ANALYSIS IN BOYS

AND GIRLS SHORT STORY

Rievky Reviano Gale

(2022130020)
Fauzan Adzim (2022130005)
Nadhifa Mahda (2022139002)
 Synopsis
“Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro is a good example of gender roles and expectation from society through the
perspective of a little girl growing up on a farm. The story takes place in a traditional farm setting, where the
protagonist struggles with the expectations placed on "boys" and "girls." The story is told from the viewpoint of
the girl, who helps her father in her farm. She understands the limitations brought by gender even though she is
talented and enjoys the physical work. Strong and authoritarian, the protagonist's father gives her the duties
usually given to boys: helping with the physical work on the farm. Her parents’ parenting causes her to question
traditional gender roles, which causes her to struggle with her changing identity. The girl feels strong as she gets
more and more involved her physical work in the farm, especially with the horses and the fox hunt. But her
feeling is disturbed by the harsh reality of a society that demands obedience to existing gender standards. The
story explores the relationship between nurture and nature, showing how personal identity is shaped by outside
expectations even as the girl struggles with her personal. When the protagonist realizes that fitting in with
society's expectations cannot be avoided, the story comes to a shocking resolution. She reluctantly accepts the
predestined path set out for her as a girl and accept the established gender roles and norms.
 Existential Feminism - Simone De Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir, a famous French philosopher and writer, is one of the most important figures in the
existentialist feminism environment. In her most famous work, “The Second Sex” (“Le Deuxième Sexe”
in French), published in 1949, Simone De Beauvoir developed a theory of existentialist feminism that
has several key points: (second wave feminism). The points of her theory are:

● The dialectic of woman: Beauvoir developed the idea of the dialectic of woman, which is an
understanding of how women are often perceived as the “other” in patriarchal cultures. She
describes how history, religion, and philosophy often portray women as “other” objects that are
ignored, reduced, or controlled by men.
● The other: Beauvoir argues that throughout history, women have been seen as “The Other” in
relation to men who are considered the standard or norm. This creates a gender hierarchy where
men are considered as full subjects and women are considered as passive or secondary objects.
Existential Feminism - Simone De Beauvoir
● Importance of freedom: Beauvoir raised the importance of individual freedom, including that of
women, in achieving autonomy and a meaningful existence. She argued that women should
understand their freedom and work towards it, so as not to be trapped in roles prescribed by a
patriarchal society.
● Understanding of the body: In “The Second Sex”, Beauvoir also discusses the role of the body in
the female experience, she describes how women’s bodies are often constructed and controlled by
patriarchal culture, and how this affects women’s identity and autonomy.
● Importance of equality: Although Beauvoir highlighted gender inequality and the injustices
experiences by women, she also emphasized the importance of equality between men and women.
She viewed equality as the ultimate goal in the feminist struggle.
● Political outlook: Beauvoir’s story of existentialist feminism is not only a philosophical analysis,
but also a political view. She encourages women to not only be aware of their inequality but also to
act to fight for their rights and change the social structures that support inequality.
 Existential Feminism - Simone De Beauvoir
Simone De Beauvoir’s theory of existentialist feminism has been one of the most influential
contributions to 20th century feminist thought. Her work paved the way for a deeper understanding of
gender roles in society and culture, and inspired many feminist to strive towards gender equality and
women’s autonomy.
 Analysis
Using Simone De Beauvoir’s theory of existential feminism to analyze a short story “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro,
we can see that the story is related to Beauvoir’s theory.

Differences in communication between father and mother indicate different gender roles in the family. Father seems
more focused on work and has limited communication with the character, while mother is more open and shares things
with her when she feels cheerful.

My father did not talk to me unless it was about the job we were doing. In this he was quite
different from my mother, who, if she was feeling cheerful, would tell me all sorts of things
– the name of a dog she had had when she was a little girl, the names of boys she had gone
out with later on when she was grown up, and what certain dresses of hers had looked like –
she could not imagine now what had become of them.
 "Could of fooled me," said the salesman. "I thought it was only a girl."
In this statement, there is a depiction of gender stereotypes that can be linked to feminist theory. This
statement shows the salesman's view of belittling or doubting someone's ability or expertise based on their
gender.

As soon as I was done I ran out of the house, trying to get out of earshot before my mother thought of what
she wanted me to do next. I hated the hot dark kitchen in summer, the green blinds and the flypapers, the
same old oilcloth table and wavy mirror and bumpy linoleum. My mother was too tired and preoccupied to
talk to me, she had no heart to tell about the Normal School Graduation Dance; sweat trickled over her face
and she was always counting under breath, pointing at jars, dumping cups of sugar. It seemed to me that
work in the house was endless, dreary, and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in my
father's service, was ritualistically important.
This statement highlights society's expectations of women, to prioritize household tasks over work outside
the home. The character's distaste for these expectations is evident through her desire to escape the hot,
gloomy kitchen and her mother's focus on household tasks rather than sharing details about social events.
This passage reflects the existentialist perspective that individuals often feel trapped by societal norms and
roles and must find ways to escape those constraints in order to find meaning and satisfaction in their lives.
 It seemed that in the minds of the people around me there was a steady undercurrent of thought,
not to be deflected, on this one subject. The word girl had formerly seemed to me innocent and
unburdened like the word child; now it appeared that it was no such thing. A girl was not, as I had
supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had to become. It was a definition, always touched with
emphasis, with reproach and disappointment.
The term "woman" has more meaning than just a descriptive label for her identity. She realized that
being called “girl” comes with societal expectations and pressure to conform, which is more than
just an innocent or neutral connotation. The characters highlight the idea that individuals often feel
trapped by societal norms and roles and must actively work to break free from these constraints in
order to discover her true selves.
My grandmother came to stay with us for a few weeks and I heard other things. "Girls don't slam doors
like that." "Girls keep their knees together when they sit down." And worse still, when I asked some
questions, "That's none of girls’ business." I continued to slam the doors and sit as awkwardly as
possible, thinking that by such measures I kept myself free.
In this sentence, the gender roles attached to women have existed for a long time, and the character is
trying to break free from these limitations.

I wondered what would happen to me. I had never disobeyed my father before, and I could not
understand why I had done it.;……; I was on Flora's side, and that made me no use to anybody, not even
to her. Just the same, I did not regret it; when she came running at me I held the gate open, that was the
only thing I could do.
In this statement, the character says that previously, she had never disobeyed her father's orders.
However, right now, she didn't understand why she did it. This text conveys the idea that individuals
often feel trapped by gender roles, and must actively work to escape these constraints in order to find
themselves.
 Instead of shutting the gate, I opened it as wide as I could. I did not make any decision to do this;
it was just what I did.
she identifies with her horse. The character wants to run free and do whatever she feels like
without being restrained by the chains of society. Even though she opened the gate, she knew that
her father would catch her horse:

"Never mind," my father said. He spoke with resignation, even good humour the words which
absolved and dismissed me for good. "She's only a girl," he said.
I didn't protest that, even in my heart. Maybe it was true.
In this text, the character experiences a situation where her father surrenders and covers up their
problems with the phrase "She's only a girl,"; the character does not dissolve the sentence in her
heart. And stated Maybe it's true. This reflects the idea that individuals often feel trapped by
gender roles, and must actively work to break free from these constraints in order to find
themselves.
Conclusion
The protagonist in Munro’s “Boys and Girls” is a girl in search of her own identity. She wishes to
work outdoor with her father, but tradition and expectations force her to grow up and become a girl
who works inside the house together with her mother instead of becoming the free and independent
woman of her dreams. Throughout the story the girl confronts the expectations and boundaries that are
set up for her.
The character in the short story can be seen through the lens of Simone de Beauvoir, who emphasized
overcoming social limitations. The young girl in the story struggles with societal expectations and
gender roles, especially when she works in farm normally only for boys.
Her fight reflects de Beauvoir's argument that women must express themselves beyond predetermined
roles, striving for authenticity. The character's evolving perceptions and choices reflect a parallel
journey to living authentically in the face of societal expectations.
She tries to fight them and finds some encouragement and inspiration in the horse, Flora, but in the
end she knows that the expectations are too many, and she finally accepts them.