Gender Roles In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro

Often times in life we find ourselves questioning our exact purpose in society, whether it’s to lead or follow, to help or be helped. In Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls”, Munro discusses the struggles of a girl growing up in an environment based on gender norms and biases. Munro suggests that individuals are often greatly affected by hegemonic behaviours which causes them to question their place in society; however, the fight against hegemonic behaviours of society may also weaken and break down an individual enough that they may never be able to bring themselves back up in society again.

In this society, gender roles have become a common practice. Throughout the beginning of the story, Munro’s character discusses her family life and the suppression of her hopes and dreams. The protagonist expresses her great disinterest in housework, which her mother consistently attempts to lure her into even though her mother knows “[the protagonist] hates [staying in the house]”, shown through her running out of the house as soon as she gets the chance. This is an example of how she’s attempting to rebel against gender roles. Going even further to show her beliefs, the protagonist defends that she is more help to her father than her brother, Laird, who seems to not take the

Further on, she realizes that her mother’s disapproval does not come from a place of anger but rather a place of envy; she states “it did not occur to [her] that [her mother] could be lonely, or jealous.” This makes her realize her mother may not have been standing in her way but rather saving her from being hurt because her mother has previously been through similar circumstances of gender