Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Borstein's "Welcome To Your Gender Workbook" reading response
Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" is a piece of text that is a how to guide on how to "properly" be a woman. The mother seems to be the one instructing Kincaid while ignoring her questions or answering them in a sardonic manner. If geography, culture, and time period were to be largely disregarded, this piece of text seems to be an absolute guideline of being a woman. It is not questioned and everything seems to be set in stone simply by the tone of the text. The guidelines for being a proper woman (or a proper man for that matter) are different in present day United States compared to the text, but there are still guidelines in which one should follow if the person wants to be seen as a man or as a woman. If the person or people fail to meet those standards are often insulted and ridiculed for not being a real man or a real woman.
The second text "Welcome To Your Gender Workbook" by Borstein, takes a whole new angle on a proper man or a proper woman. In fact, it questions what is a proper woman and a proper man. The text puts the reader in some situations that might make the reader feel awkward or uncomfortable. The main point of the text is about the reader. It questions on how the reader defines his or herself. To a reader who doesn't question his or her gender, it seems futile to even take the questionnaire provided within the text. The second text seems more appropriate for someone who is screaming, "Help! I'm a man trapped inside a woman's body," or vice versa.