Girl was, in short, a woman’s guide to proper conduct and lifestyle in the 1900s and prior. Some of those "codes" and guidelines still survive to this day. The theme prioritizes on the essence of not being the “slut” a woman is “so bent on becoming.” In other words, if a female does not abide to those standards set by society, she will be viewed as "damaged goods." Those set rules in the community of women is to be taught from one generation to another.
Girl comprised of a long list of rules that a mother is responsible to teach her daughter so that she becomes a “self-possessed woman in the world.” Kincaid points out that a woman doesn’t need specific rules to be a “self-possessed” woman. A mother should allow her daughter to be and instill in her the ideas of being respectful of herself.
Kincaid views the tradition of females carrying the same set of traditions through generations as a “relationship between the power and the powerless.” At the time, she could not reject her mother’s notions and “advice” because it’d be viewed as disrespectful. But, Kincaid did not absorb the information; she simply resisted. She pursued her own ideas of how to comport herself in society.
In a similar concept, Girl Code is a modernized version of Girl. Girl Code speaks of the unspoken topics and difficulties of being a woman in today's world. The subjects range from farting in public, dating, being classy, working, and dealing with jealousy, etc. In Girl, when the mother was directing the narrator how to comport herself around men or how to cook, those subjects are touched in Girl Code.
Girl Code is blunt and straightforward, instead of the conservative aspect of the life of women in the times of Girl. Most importantly, Girl Code emphasizes on equality and the unique nature of women. Girl highlighted women to work around the parochial society they lived in. In Girl Code, women are made aware that they have control and power (illustrated in the image about), they just have to own up to it.
I understand where you are coming from when you compare these two together. Like you said both of these speak on the conduct that is expected for women to follow corresponding with the era. Also, both are very blunt in speaking. Although Girl Code is a bit cruder in its way of explaining, both offer straightforward advice that can ultimately help females when it comes to common etiquette. In “Girl” this could be seen when the mother would comment on the girl becoming a slut, or even when she told her how to smile at people she didn’t like. All in all I think that this was a very good correlation, and also that your post was very creative.
ReplyDeleteYour take on this connection is very interesting and your blog post in itself is very well made. I also like that you took the time to point out several differences between the two instead of just stating the things that they had in common. I think your connection shows how with time, ideas and normality within a society change. While Girl code is more blatant and crude, I think it still shows how as women we do still keep a set of “rules” to how we act according to how society will treat us. Like you said many of the same subjects are touched on in both, just within different levels of acceptance by society.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog post. It is very different and well thought out. You made great connections between the show "Girl Code" and the short story "Girl". I would not have thought of this show to compare it to myself so great job on that. You pointed out some great things when you wrote that "Girl Code" and "Girl" give some very straight forward and specific pieces of advice on how to be a young lady and not a slut in society. The ways in which the two of these are said are very much different in that the protagonist in "Girl" does not so much have a voice but the protagonists in "Girl Code" do very much have voices. As a whole I think that you were very creative in this blog as well as informative with great relative points.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad that you were able to bring these two together although in my own way, I disagree. I feel as though the purpose of girl is more to show the reader the “view” that a woman has on that society. Girl code, is its own way, tries to show its viewers the “truth” of being a woman without subjecting to the perfect ideals that society has on women.
ReplyDeleteI do have to say, you’re images and videos to help to enjoy the read much more than I would have without all the extra work. You did a fabulous job with your blog!
This is an interesting connection and I see where you are coming from. I commend you on thinking outside of the box as others, including myself, wouldn't have even thought of such connection. I agree that both are giving advice to young women on how to conduct themselves, however I believe the motives are very different. In "Girl" the mother's advice is of how the daughter must be to be accepted or to even identify as a proper women in their society. The show Girl Code however gives a humorous and entertaining outlook. Although the advice given on Girl Code is helpful, it is not necessarily vital to being accepted into society. Also, Girl Code's advice empowers women while what the mother said in "Girl" was more confining. Despite this, I really like the the connection you were able to make between the two.
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