Gender In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

“He was my best friend’s brother,/my grandfather, father, mommy’s boyfriend,/my date/my cousin/my coach/i met him for the first time that night and--/four guys took turns, and--/i’m a boy and this happened to me, and--” (Anderson) Nearly half of rape and sexual assault victims are girls under the age of 18, according to Sexual Assault Survivor Resources. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, both rape and sexism are topics heavily represented through the protagonist Melinda Sordino--a young high schooler who experiences fear, loneliness, and the feeling of not having a voice after being raped and calling the cops at a summer party. Throughout Speak, gender is proven to be a social construct that causes the main obstacles in the plot. From the beginning, gender is shown to be a social construct solidified by the actions of the antagonist, Andy Evans, towards Melinda and girls in general. “Beast: ‘You’re not going to scream. You didn’t scream before. You liked it. You’re jealous that I took out your friend and not you. I think I know what you want.’” (194) This moment shows just how severe the idea of gender being a social construct has gotten in Melinda’s high school. Because of the gender roles in the school, boys like Andy …show more content…
Not only does rape and the idea of “predator and prey” exist in the real world, but it is becoming a normal part of college, high school, and even middle school culture--commonly being referred to as “rape culture”. “By using the label of “rape culture”, this gives power to the idea of a societal undercurrent in which all women are treated as objects by all men who escape any responsibility whatsoever.” (Ross) Evidently, women are still seen as objects in many societies, and Speak does an excellent job of highlighting this injustice and showing the struggles one goes through when confronted with rape and