Diane Reay’s article, ‘Spice
Girls’, ‘Nice Girls’, ‘Girlies’, and ‘Tomboys’: gender discourses, girls’
cultures and femininities in the primary classroom, extensively discusses
the issue of girls seeming to work harder to reach the status of boys. It exemplifies the incorrect notion that
girls are the weaker sex and, therefore, must put forth double the effort to
become “equal” to boys. Although this
study touched on the fact that girls were “harder working, more mature and more
socially skilled,” the girls still believed themselves to be inferior to boys, despite
their superior performance(s). Both sexes believed that it is better to be a
boy, rather than a girl, in this society.
In order to reverse the underlying beliefs of historical gender roles in
society, it seems to suggest that in order for girls to succeed in life, they
must do so academically. This article
seems to re-emphasize the saying that “nice guys finish last,” and don’t have
much fun and are not fun to be around.
The ‘nice girls’ focused on studies and doing what is considered
proper, and seemed to viewed the other groups as not very well-behaved. The other groups of girls, ‘spice girls,’ ’girlies,’
and ‘tomboys,’ seemed to view the nice girls as being not as fun to be around. Race, ethnicity, and social class all seemed
to impact the placements of these girls into their corresponding groups. The following comics touch on these various roles
and expectations of women.
Six Chix
The Pajama Diaries
Six Chix
https://bblearn.missouri.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-775810-dt-content-rid-13882326_1/courses/sociology_3320_av/Reay%20-%20Spice%20Girls%2C%20Nice%20Girls%2C%20Girlies%2C%20and%20Tomboys%20-%20Gender%20Discourses%2C%20Girls%27%20Cultures%2C%20and%20Feminities%20in%20the%20Primary%20Classroom.pdf
