Mask=Power

I watched a How to Kill a Mockingbird last night with my boss and noticed a couple of things that we have been discussing in class and reading about in the book Dude You’re a Fag. Just to give you a brief back ground about the movie, the movie happens way back in 40s or 50s not that sure on time period and focuses on the topic of race and the judicial system. It amazes me how things haven't changed yet for minorities fighting equal rights of. I focused on a main character in the movie a girl named Scout. She took a stand and redefined girlhood as tough and powerful. (Pascoe, 117) Her and her brother lived with their father and called him by his first name and weren't forced to act like the stereotypes of a boy and girl. Scout was allowed to play with her brother and friends and mostly lead the adventures. Scout wasn't forced to until school time to wear a dress and present herself as a girl by wearing dresses to state that she was a girl. Still with her outer appearance stating that she was a typical young girl she acted like a typical boy picking fights and speaking her mind at all times. Scouts father still called her by her nick name throughout the whole movie which gave the audience a blank slate that she couldn't really be judge because she wasn't acting out of the norm her father had set for her as a girl. Scout did show that she would be considered a typical tomboy in the 21century. Freedom to express a young girl’s opinion so openly like Scout does in the movie wouldn't be allowed outside the house. Her ways of caring herself are in the ways of a stereotyped young man. In Chapter 5 on pg 117 just states the reason why Scout was excepted to until she was suppose to act like a girl when she went to school. Scout’s brother also helps reinforce her when she was at school and also her dad by saying she would get a spanking for acting out of character at school.  She shows the aggression through her beating up classmates, dressing like a boy would dress, seeking adventure with other boys, staying out late, and having a voice that is actually listened to by her community. 

All the things that were listed that Scout had the freedom to do something that I feel women feel not worthy to embrace. Has the value of a women been decreased by the woman? This is a question that I ask daily before speaking to young men, men, or older women. Scout has inspired me that everyone has a voice and stories to tell so don't prejudge a person’s values or morals just by the way they dress. The main thing that set Scout apart when she spoke out and people listened was her attire. She grabbed her audience that she wanted to change (mainly men) by her looking more like them. (Pascoe, 121)