What Are Gender Roles In Outcasts United By Luma Mufleh

Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, highlights her experiences as a child growing up in rural South Georgia, bringing attention to the extreme poverty surrounding her, as well as the gender expectations she faced from her religious family. Similarly, in Warren St. John’s novel, Outcasts United, the life of Luma Mufleh, a soccer coach to a refugee team, is also highlighted, and issues of gender inequality and religious expectations are also addressed. Despite their different cultural backgrounds, Janisse Ray and Luma Mufleh experienced similar hurdles in life regarding gender roles and what was expected of them. Those experiences and the way they were handled provided both women with places that hold extreme significance in …show more content…
Janisse Ray and her family were Christian, and her family adhered to strict guidelines. Women in their family were especially subject to strict rules. For example, Ray was not allowed to wear pants, cut her hair, or wear jewelry or makeup. In addition, her head had to be covered whenever she prayed. She was also expected to live a life of modesty. She and her sister were unable to swim, due to the fact that they were forbidden to show their bodies, they were unable to compete in sports, date, show their arms above their elbows or their legs above their knees, or even wear sandals. The strict dress guidelines that Ray was expected to participate in hindered her from participating in everyday activities like other children her age. For instance, Ray was adamant in participating in football with the boys in her class. The boys refused to let her play, not because she was a girl, but because of the way she dressed. However, Ray eventually proved to them that despite the fact that she was forced to wear a dress, she still had the ability to play football just as well as any other …show more content…
Jordan is the root of her culture, which is something that she still values. However, she finds her new home in Clarkston, Georgia. Originally, Mufleh knew absolutely nothing about Clarkston. Eventually, Clarkston becomes a place that provides her with a sense of familiarity when she experiences homesickness for her native Jordan. Mufleh eventually discovers a local grocery store that carries food items that Mufleh’s grandmother might have used to make a traditional dish. The most important place to Mufleh, however, was the soccer field. Originally, Mufleh maintained the idea that the soccer field was a place where the refugee kids she coached could leave their worries behind, and she made it a point to not ask her players about their pasts. Soon, the soccer field became a place where they all became comfortable with each other and were able to share their struggles with one another. In a way, the soccer field provided Mufleh with a new family away from her family in Jordan. Soccer helped her connect with the kids, and soon, it helped her connect with their families. By forming that connection on the soccer field, this allowed Mufleh to become a much-needed leader and mentor to the kids she coached, as well as their