In today's workshop, students broke up into gender-specific groups and had to come up with 10 "rules for being a guy" and "rules for being a girl" -- not necessarily that they agreed with, but ones that were understood as part of our culture/society. Here's an example of what everyone came up with in smaller groups:
Rules for Being a Girl
cross your legs when wearing a skirt/dress
dont' be too loud
keep your appearance up
never slouch
don't gossip
never be alone with a boy in a room
no fighting
don't have a lot of boyfriends
don't be nasty
don't be fast
don't do drugs
don't drink
respect yourself
girls mature faster than boys
Rules for Being a Boy
be strong
don't cry
be respectful
talk proper
be helpful
be all you can be
be a role model
be a leader
don't hit girls
keep a hair cut
don't skip or scream
take out the garbage
never cross your legs
don't wear make up
As a class, we read Jamaica Kincaid's famous piece "GIRL" -- about what it was like for the writer to grow up as a girl in Haitian culture. We briefly discussed the meaning of her words and experience and now everyone's assignment is to turn their group rules into individual poems that begin with:
Never...
Always...
This is how to...
This assignment is due next week. I look forward to reading these powerful poems!
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