Antonino

Kelly Antonino
Professor Malo
ENG 385
7 December 2014
Through the Lens of Feminism
Feminism is defined as the advocacy of womens rights on the grounds of political,
social, and economic equality to men by Websters Dictionary, while Femininity is defined as
the quality of being female; womanliness, somehow the equality to men is lost when the nature
of a female is discussed (Merriam-Webster). Womanly attributes are therefore socially accepted
stereotypes, such as women belonging in the kitchen that ignore the right of women to be equal
to men. Contrary to popular belief multi-cultural young adult literature does not escape this
socially accepted patriarchal society. Most of the top picked multi-cultural young adult novels
put the female protagonists into a box that fits right in with anti-feminist ideas. Taking a closer
look at these popular titles within the genre, books with young female protagonists portray the
characters as beautiful, motherly, emotional, and basically lost without men.
The pressure to be beautiful surrounds females in all aspects of life. From birth, girls are
described as precious, angelic, beautiful, or the opposite she just hasnt grown into her
looks, shes a late bloomer. If a female child does not have the perfect hair, eyes, or stature
they might not feel as pretty. In Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Chinese protagonist Minli
is portrayed as not dull like the rest of the village that is covered in mud, but she has glossy
black hair with pink cheeks, shining eyes always eager for adventure, and a fast smile (Lin 2).
Minli, Julie the Alaskan protagonist in Julie of the Wolves, and Lynn, the object of Katie a young
Japanese girls adoration in the book Kira-kira, all share the commonality of long dark hair. In

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the Native American novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, the protagonists name is Won-a-palei which means The Girl with the Long Black Hair though her secret name is Karana
(ODell 5). This may not have been seen as pretty to young girls who idolize dolls such as
Barbie, but the positive light surrounding the description of the long dark hair in multi-cultural
literature guides young girls reading these novels to have a new outlook of what beautiful really
is. It may be safe to say that the length is what makes the hair beautiful and feminine, if perhaps
the characters had short choppy hair they may be seen as boyish. Kim Ha, the protagonist of the
Vietnamese novel Inside out & Back Again, states on page 10 long hair I wish I had (Lai and
Shappell). Beauty for all of these young girls is found in the length of their hair regardless of the
color, although they all have dark hair, which may be because of their ethnicities OR because of
a social assumption that if you are not white your hair is black.
Looking at five different cultures in young adult novels this aspect of beautiful is put to
the test, however, MOST of the characters are still described as beautiful regardless of their not
so white skin color. Julie in Julie of the Wolves is described as a classic Eskimo beauty
although she is small with wiry muscles, which was unusual for Eskimo women who live in such
harsh conditions (George 8). Most of the time the extra fat would be helpful to keep warm in a
climate like Alaskas. Would Julie then not be such a classic beauty if she had the extra weight
in her face and on her body? On page 30 Kim Ha makes a list of birthday wishes and on the list
is Wish I could lose my chubby cheeks and then on page 33 she says I still want her sunken
eyes(Lai and Shappell). Kim Ha thinks the definition of beautiful is skinny, even though her
mother is an unhealthy skinny with hollow cheeksand sunken eyes, Kim Ha still wishes to
be smaller and more like her mother. Katies mom, in Kira-Kira, is also described as tiny and
faint, standing at four feet nine inches, her mother is constantly being wrapped into her fathers

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arms for protection and complaining of needing aspirin for her headaches that her daughters give
her for she may faint (Kadohata 9, 25). Katies aunt is the opposite of her mother and is
described as round although this is not stated in a negative light, it does not sound positive either,
as Katie wishes to knock the round hair off her aunts head (Kadohata 37). The one good thing
about Katie in Kira-kira, as opposed to Kim Ha in Inside out & Back Again, would be that Katie
does not care to be pretty, and does not let her own features depress her. She can however
recognize beauty, and comments on her sisters deep eyes and long hair on occasion. On page 18
Katie asks Lynn what her father and uncle are talking about and Lynn says, that the pretty ones
(women) make them giggle Katie takes this easily, and does not ask why (Kadohata). It
immediately makes sense to her that the pretty women are objects of the mens attention. If these
novels were to truly be a guide for young girls it would not put such a light on small being
beautiful because the media is already so saturated with that misguided idea.
Eyes are also a mark for beauty. In these novels, eyes are mentioned continuously.
Alaskan Julie has black eyes that are slanted gracefully which may be a way to put the shape
of her eyes into a positive light, instead of making her an outcast because she has Asian eyes
(George 8). Julies eyes also sparkle, like Minli in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, who has
eyes that shine. Katie also described her sisters eyes with the Japanese word kira-kira that means
glittering, hence the name of the book Kira-kira. Kim Ha praises her mothers eyes as well even
though they are eyes that resemble no one elses sunken and deep like Westerners yet almondshaped like ours again the shape is mentioned in this novel (Lai and Shappell 29). Kim Has
mothers eyes are set apart because they are like the white persons eyes, but are also Asian.
One difference of beauty in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon would be that Minlis
father was described as having eyes (that) sparkled raindrops in the sun when he began a story,

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like his daughter and Julie who were also described as having pretty eyes (Lin 3). While Minlis
mother was never described with any beautiful features, just as discontent. Ma sighed a great
deal where as Kim Has mother was so beautiful, and Katies mom was
delicate and tiny (Lin 2, Lai and Shappell, 33, and Kadohata 9). This would break the standard
because men are supposed to be seen as strong and sturdy like Kapugen, Julies father in Julie of
the Wolves. Katies Father in Kira-kira, is like the sea on a windless day as hard as the wall,
and Karanas father from Island of the Blue Dolphins who was the chief and not have sparkling
eyes that could be seen as feminine (Lai and Shappell 11 and ODell 5). In this way, Ba is not
seen as the masculine fatherly character, and instances where Ma is in control of the household
start to make sense, although it breaks social standards.
The role of a mother can be traced back to mother nature that takes care of the Earth by
replenishing the vegetation and growth with rainwater. The protagonists in these popular titles,
and others, are all shown to have some type of connection to nature. Julie is stranded in Alaskan
tundra in Julie of the Wolves, but has to connect with nature and a pack of wolves to survive.
Julie is very knowledgeable of the land she is stranded in. She can name most of the birds and
small animals that she comes into contact with because of her previous encounters with them. If
Julie had not been so well taught in the ways of the wolves by her father, she may not have been
able to pick up on the way they interact with each other to find hints for how she can get food
from them. She is also aware of the seasonal changes and realizes that the white out of winter is
coming so she must make haste to find shelter and food. A less adjusted person would not know
these things and thus be left to a much dimmer fate than Julie. Karana, in Island of the Blue
Dolphins, is also stranded, but on an Island where she fights to survive and provide for herself
using the gifts of nature that surround her. Karana is connected to the animals on the island

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before she is left alone. On page 15 she says, I saw hunters with their long spears skimming
over the water, I was angry, for these animals were my friends (ODell). Karana is connected to
the animals, unlike the hunters who see the otters as material items that can be sold. Karana is
also trapped for a time when she cannot decide if she should break tradition and make a weapon
to arm herself against the dangers of the island, for women in her tribe were commanded not to
make any weapon or else very bad things would happen. She does end up making a spear but it
takes her time because she can only imagine what she has seen because hands on learning was
forbidden of her. Minli in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, goes on a journey to a
mountaintop and along the way is introduced to the splendors of nature and animals; she even
befriends a magical dragon. Magical animals that help her along her journey guide Minli, so she
is connected to the Earth by her belief in the stories her father had told her. If she did not have
faith her fathers stories Minli would not have made it all the way to the Old Man of the Moon or
back home again. Kim Ha from Inside out & Back again, and Katie the protagonist in Kira-kira,
are both moved from their homes, and relocated to foreign places but nature is involved in Kim
Has remembrance of her papaya tree and sister Lynns connection to animals that Katie mimics.
Kim Ha learns to adjust to her new American home, finally, when she tastes the dried papaya
that her American neighbor gives to her and she thinks to herself not the same, but not bad at
all this represents the connection to her home in Saigon to her new home in America (Lai and
Shappell 234). Lynn is saved by Katie when Katie throws a milk glass at the dog and it runs over
to lap it up so that Lynn can get away from it, however, because of Lynns love for animals she
finds a hose to spray the dog away from the broken glass. Katie learns the importance of
protecting animals then, because she could not believe Lynn would save an animal that tried to
bite her, but she respects Lynn and takes her guidance. The connections to nature impact the

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lives of these girls by showing them how to survive and provide for themselves that may one day
translate to a family they can provide for.
Domesticity and femininity go hand and hand for social standards. The classic 50s
picture of the mother who stays at home to cook and clean is found often enough in multicultural literature. Such as Julies role models from her Eskimo life that do all of the cooking,
cleaning, and sewing, while the men, like her father, does the hunting. Julie describes her first
time cutting into a carcass and even says Such hard work! No wonder this job is given to
Eskimo men and boys although she seems to get along with it just fine, not to mention her
weeks of surviving in the wilderness hunting alone (George 60). Minlis female role models are
also responsible for the cooking, cleaning, and sewing. When Minli meets the Moon Rain family
the grandmother, Amah, puts a coat that she made around her shoulders when she leaves (Lin
207). Kim Has mother is a secretary in a navy office stays up late designing and cutting baby
clothes to give to seamstresses both respectable female jobs, that also involve sewing (Lai
and Shappell 14). Katies mother didnt want us to go to college but to go to Japan to learn
their femininity where they most likely would learn how to be household mothers (Kadohata
17, 30). Katie on page 38 says Someday when I got older, I would have to make fancy onigiri
too, or nobody would marry me (Kadohata). Katie believes that knowing how to cook is the
way to find a husband. Karanas village, in Island of the Blue Dolphins is in shambles after the
men are killed in battle and The women, who were never asked to do more than stay at home,
cook food, and make clothing now must take the place of the man and face the dangers which
abound beyond the village (ODell 25). Karanas village shows the danger of keeping women in
a social standard apart from the men. When disaster strikes there is no one who is capable of
doing the others job. Girls reading these novels should not feel pressured into a box of the female

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standard, and instead should be encouraged by role models like the protagonists who find
themselves in situations where they have to protect and provide for themselves, and they even
succeed.
Julie and Karana are two young girls who are both stranded in the wilderness and have to
fight for their lives both characters also have a missing mother figure. There is a possibility that
Julie and Karana are able to survive their situations because they only have their father to
emulate. Thus an immediate role model, like Katies mom who constantly hushes her, or Minlis
Ma who shakes her head in disapproval, does not thrust the female standard upon Julie or
Karana. However, by portraying the girls as lost without the advice of their fathers, a negative
light is placed upon females who cannot find their own way without the help of a male. This
perpetuates the inequality of men and women by placing the man in charge and keeping to the
patriarchal society.
Women are traditionally more emotional then men. This can make women seem less then
men because they are quick to cry and can be irrational at times. The female characters in these
multi-cultural novels are not separated from these judgments. Julie has every right to be scared
and sad while being stranded in the Alaskan tundra with no food to survive on. However she
remembers the teaching of her father and repeats to herself change your ways when fear seizes
for it usually means you are doing something wrong (George 42). Julie refuses to let her fear
cripple her and tries to follow the direction of her father, the great hunter, because he had
survived many a trip. Although Julie can still be irrational, she reminds herself to stop and think
and before acting, again like her father before her. Katie and Lynn, however, give into their
irrational crying early on in the novel. Lynn cannot find her sweater, and Katie cannot find her
bear and they cry for almost the whole drive from Iowa to Georgia (Kadohata 20). The only way

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to get them to stop was for their uncle to ask them if they wanted to learn how to spit, which was
very unladylike and Katie even comments that our mother would kill us if she knew about the
spitting, and their mother was the picture of ladylike (Kadohata 22). Minli in Where the
Mountain Meets the Moon was irrational when she left her home in search of fortune. Her
mother at first blames Ba for the stories he filled Minlis head with, but in the end, Ma realizes
that her discontent with their present state was what really drove Minli away. If Ma had not been
so irrational about their well being, Minli may not have been so careless as to leave home alone
at such a young age. Karana the main character in Island of the Blue Dolphins, is not against
such stipulations because she is alone on the island. She, like Julie, has the teachings of her
father to remember and tries to become a well-adjusted hunter. Kim Ha from Inside out & Back
Again, wishes to stay calm no matter what my brothers say and that mother would stop
chiding me to stay calm (Lai and Shappell 30). Kim Ha can get worked up over things, and can
lash out. She even pinches the girl next to her whenever she makes her feel dumb. Her irrational
actions cause her to be chastised. Kim Has brothers are never told to calm down, even when
they rough house. Her one brother even holds a martial arts class in their front yard in their new
home in America, but it is looked down upon when Kim Ha tries to learn how to defend herself
from the bullying she receives at school from her ignorant American classmates. The one friend
Kim Ha is paired with is a church girl who says that being quiet and turning away is the best
defense against the bullies. In this case, Kim Has irrational behavior comes in handy. She is able
to stand up for herself by the end of the book by beating up the bully and everyone cheers her for
Asian martial art skill that she secretly learned from her brother.
All five of these novels portray their female protagonists in different ways, however each
of the examples shows that women of all cultures are brought up against a womanly standard.

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Young girls reading these popular multi-cultural novels are never really given a new perspective
on feminism and are instead continuously immersed in the stereotypes placed on females. Young
girls reading these titles might find small differences in beauty, such as your hair does not have
to be blonde, but you do still have to be skinny and have long hair and pretty eyes. They will find
that being a good housewife has value, and that even in other cultures knowing how to cook and
sew are important. And lastly, young female audiences will have the idea that all women are
emotional and irrational even around the world, and are still taught to be quiet and listen instead
of acting out in emotional fits. Popular belief is therefore wrong about multi-cultural YA
novels, and a new genre of pro-feminism titles should be promoted for the youth of America.

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Works Cited
George, Jean Craighead, and John Schoenherr. Julie of the Wolves. New York: Harper & Row,
1972. Print.
Kadohata, Cynthia. Kira-kira. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2004. Print.
Lai, Thanhha, and Ray Shappell. Inside out & Back Again. New York: Harper, 2011. Print.
Lin, Grace. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York: Little, Brown, 2009. Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960. Print.