Jamaica Kincaid on writing, her life, and The New Yorker

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A gender Perspective of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid
There have been so many conversations around gender since the ancient times. At a mere
mention, the word ‘gender’ draws a wide range of thoughts most of which are highly
contentious. With the rise of feminism, people have adopted a rather narrow sense of gender to
mean the fight for women rights. Gender constructions are as old as human societies and the ill
relations between the male and female relations date back to the ancient days when the human
beings had barely made any innovations. There are some roles that have been dictated as
feminine and others as masculine. Most of the gender constructions are imposed by culture and
they are almost universal in all world cultures. Jamaica Kincaid in her short story Girl explores
the roles attributed to the female gender. She outlines most of the duties that the society expects a
girl to perform. Kincaid in her short story presents not only a narrow sense of femininity but also
some misleading information that could be destructive to social balance.
Being female does not mean that one must always work within the domestic space. The
story by Kincaid outlines the duties that a girl ought to do to perfectly fit in the society. The
chores are predominantly domestic. The chores include washing clothes, preparing meals and
setting the table. The voice in the story says, “... cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil;
soak your little clothes after you take them off” (Kincaid 320). The story presents a sexist view
of the world. Even though the gender roles specified in the short story fit well within femininity,
they can be performed by any gender. The emphasis placed on the roles creates an implication