Gender in House of Mango Street and The Quinceanera Essay Sample

Kids go through a lot on a daily basis, but what do you think makes kids struggle?  I think of gender for a multitude of reasons. Gender can change how we get looked at by society. An example of this can be seen in House of Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Where we see a young girl named Esperanza struggling and how her life is in her community. Another example is “The Quinceanera” by June Canedo where the author shows how gender can affect the growing up of children. Gender is full of expectations. Very often there are cases where gender affects how we are treated by society, what you wear, and how we like our lives.

Gender can affect how many themself. For example,  “Underneath her embroidered black dress she wore a long-sleeve shirt to cover her arms”(Hernandez). This is because a woman having big arms doesn't follow the social norm. Women are often discriminated against, an example is ‘Some 50% of working women of color (14.7 million) make less than $15 an hour. Some 25% of men of all races make less than $15 an hour, compared to 40% of women” (Albrect ). For the same job why should men get paid more, that is how you know there is discrimination in gender. That's why gender and culture affect the way we view ourselves and even cause discrimination. 

Gender can change the way we live for multiple reasons, like gender roles and social norms which can make you susceptible to many things. An example of danger in gender is “Sally, you lied. It wasn't what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn't want it, Sally”(Cisneros 99). This can be an example of how gender can put many in danger. The main reason why gender can affect someone is that people can assume you do bad things or you don't fit the social norm. An example of this is ““Her father says to be this beautiful is trouble. They Are very strict in their religion. They are not supposed to dance. He remembers his sisters and is sad. Then she can't go out. Sally I mean” (Cisnero 81). Sally’s father doesn't want people to think badly about his daughter. This is because when she is very beautiful people assume things about her. That's why he is hesitant about her dancing. More females have to live more carefully and change their habits to keep themselves safe and fit the social norms.

Gender makes kids follow stereotypes because they don't want to be judged or be different. An example can be seen in The “Quinceanera'' a young girl was being different with her dress, '' I think more people like her are breaking the norm, and I respect her dress and the way she covers up” (Hernadez). The thing with society is that when you don't follow the norms you can be thought of differently based on the way you dress. Gender can also stop kids from having more opportunities to be different. In the text it states “Jayla Sheffield, 15, looked to her left and right. She and six friends, all wearing black shorts, white Nikes and T-shirts with the words “Jayla’s Quince,” paused, ready to kick off a night of festivities with a dance routine they had practiced for months”(Hernandez). Kids are afraid to be different and nowadays that is bad because everyone is their own person. All in all gender affects most kids with how they view themselves and how others view them.

Many think gender doesn't affect how we grow up. I can totally say I disagree with this, in the text “House On Mango Street'' by Sandra Cisneros,“The Quinceanera” by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, “Nearly One-Third of U.S. Workers Make Less than $15 an Hour by Leslie Albrecht. There were countless examples of showing how gender shapes how we go throughout our daily lives with social norms and self confidence issues. These are all examples of how gender affects your daily life. Overall gender can change how you live on a daily basis and all the texts that Incorporated shows this.