Comparison between Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid and Mean Girls the movie to show the way society dictates rules for women.

1. Girl vs Mean Girls
Modern day rules dictated by society based on the
movie Mean Girls

2. Girl by Jamaica
Kincaid
A mother is telling her daughter how to
behave in front of society so that she
becomes a real woman and not a slut.
These rules are based on tradition and
culture, such as her references to Sunday
church, the types of plants she should be
growing, the activities such as playing
marbles, throwing stones at blackbirds,
spitting, etc. Also, the references made of
food: salt fish, pumpkin fritters, tea.
These rules come with consequences if
they aren’t followed: her becoming a slut,
which is something a woman shouldn’t be
in that society.

3. Mean Girls
A group of girls in an American
High School are seen as the queens
of that society because they make
and follow their rules about how to
behave. When a new innocent girl
arrives from Africa they teach her
to live by their rules and turn her
into a “mean girl”, because being a
mean girl means having power
over everyone else at school;
dictating new trends and being
respected. The consequences of
not following those rules are
becoming a loser and being
rejected by society.

4. Although the movie exagerates a lot, that is the way girls act in school, following
some rules dictated by their own friends, not only their family. And if you don’t follow
them it could lead to social rejection. In Mean Girls a relationship with Girl can be
seen, even though the cultures and periods of time are different, the concept is the
same.
• “On Sundays try to walk
like a lady and not like the
slut you are so bent on
becoming”
• “Be sure to wash every
day, even if it is with your
own spit”
• “this is how you set a table
for lunch; this is how you
set a table for breakfast”

5. • “…this is how to behave in front of men who don’t know you
very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediatly the slut
I have warned you against becoming.”
• “…You musn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give
directions.”

6. “…this is how you smile to
someone you dont like
too much; this is how you
smile to someone you
don’t like at all.”
“…this is how to bully a
man; this is how a man
bullies you.”

7. Final thoughts
Caught in between all the rules of
society, which vary according to
the kind of people you hang out
with, the family that raised you and
the culture or social economical
class you grow in, you don’t have
the opportunity to grow as an
individual. If you always follow
someone else’s rules in order to
“fit” into that society, you won’t be
able to explore your own unique
way to handle life.