Gender Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird

Throughout history and still to this day, female oppression, patriarchal values, and standard gender roles of girls (and boys) have been very common in the United States, especially in the American South. Written by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic tale of two kids, Jem and Scout, along with their father, Atticus, living in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Living in a town with prejudice and discrimination toward many different groups in particular females. This makes it incredibly difficult for Scout to find her place in society because she’s a tomboy and defies traditional stereotypes. Gender roles and the treatment of women have shifted since the 1930’s when Scout was growing up, beginning with the 1960’s-70’s feminist …show more content…
Not wanting to get in trouble, Scout was fearful of trespassing on the Radley property, “Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home—I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!” (Lee 69). By Jem saying this it signified he believed having female-like qualities was a sign of weakness. While Scout was disliked for not acting enough like a proper lady, she was also detested in moments like this for acting “girly.” Whether it was for being too much or not enough like a woman, Scout was hated on strongly just because of her gender. Due to societal sexism being a woman has negative connotations, “Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with” (Lee 54). Remarks such as these only discourage girls, and deep down Scout feels ashamed very of …show more content…
Discrimination and sexism roared throughout the South in the earlier 1900’s, as it still does in some areas today. To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of Atticus, Jem, and Scout Finch living in Maycomb, Alabama, a very poor town. Here, every girl and boy is raised into or expected to fill their gender role. Women were typically full-time housewives while men were put to work and “took care” of their family. Scout was different some say, she defied what society anticipated her childhood and life to be like. Being judged constantly, Scout saw the worst in herself when the tomboy attitude began to show, family members and friends scolded her into believing it wasn’t acceptable to be that way. As time progressed, the 1960s fight for women’s rights was eye opening to females across the globe. Almost 100 years after Scout was tormented and stereotyped for being a female so much has developed, from the women's liberation to having much more equality in the