Hurtado !

Richard Hurtado

Professor Ditch

English 115

2 December 2017

Conformity and Radicalism of Gender

Gender is a very complex term in todays society, mainly because it is falsely

dichotomized between masculine and feminine. In reality gender is an ever changing spectrum.

The meaning of being a radical in our gender means to behave in an opposing manner to those

who dichotomize gender. To conform to gender is just the opposite of being radical, in fact it is

expected by society, which means to abide by the rules of your oriented sex. Gender is performed

not only amongst people in society, but also performed in fictional novels. In the book, The

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, there is

a huge variety of examples of conforming and radical gender performances. Some characters that

display these diverse gender performances in the novel are Juliet Ashton and Elizabeth

McKenna. These two characters are radicals who do not follow their gender performances. But

sometimes do conform with their gender as well, as they are expected by their birth assigned sex.

Juliet takes action against males but can also be a subordinate figure to them. The other

character, Elizabeth McKenna, also performs similarly, she conforms with her gender as well as

rebels against it. While both of these characters have had several encounters in which made them

soft and emotional, which would classify them as conforming to their genders, they are also

forced to become gender radicals in order to have the change they want to see happen in their

lives.
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Juliet behaves masculine, which causes her to become radical. She also behaves

feminine, which labels her as a gender conformer as well. Aaron Devor, in the article Becoming

Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender, says that femininity must be expressed

through modes of dress, movement, speech, and action which communicate weakness,

dependency, ineffectualness, availability for sexual or emotional service, and sensitivity to the

needs of others (40-41). With the character of Juliet, a piece of evidence from the text that

displays her conforming to her gender is when she dresses and acts more feminine when around

Markham Reynolds. She buys a dress to look her best to go out for dinner, she also gets her hair

done, all which shape her conformity with her feminine side. Juliet is also seen as a radical when

she takes offensive action when she kicks out her fianc, Rob Dartry, from her home for

replacing her bookshelf full of her precious books with his awards, trophies, and certificates.

Jason Del Gandio, in the book Rhetoric For Radicals, the reading A Call to Rhetorical Action,

he says, To change the world has thus meant to change the conditions in which we live (2).

This piece of evidence can be used to understand Juliets behavior. Specifically when Rob Dartry

takes over her home Juliet decides to stand up for herself, breaking the subordinate trait to

change her world that she would like to live.

Like Juliet, Elizabeth is seen as a masculine female, nonetheless, she does also have a

soft feminine side as well. Which means that she also is a gender radical while simultaneously

also being a gender conformist. Judith Lorber, in the article Night to his Day, says, Resistance

and rebellion have altered gender norms, but so far they have rarely eroded the status (28).

Which means that no matter how much she fights against her gender, she has sparked inspiration

by those around her. However, little has been really done to the meaning of being a woman.
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When she helps protect the runaway from the Germans, portraying her radical nature. Another

way that she has been a radical in both society and gender is when she stood up for her fellow

inmate, Alina, who stole a potato from the Germans storage, by quickly taking the blame. She

then took the punishment for her. She also exercises her radicalness by protecting a woman who

was being beaten for menstruating. She took the rod from the guard beating Binta, the woman

menstruating, and beating the guard. Elizabeth was then taken into punishment again. She also

conforms with her gender by sharing intimate feelings with Christian Hellman, a German soldier,

and being his subordinate figure. Then being motherly with her daughter, Kit, while she was still

around. Jason Del Gandio, in Rhetoric For Radicals, says Society assumes that women should

should pursue their own endeavors as long as those endeavor dont interfere with the female

responsibility to bear children and create a home (20). Elizabeth does just that, she becomes a

radical and despite her bearing a child she still becomes a fighter for what she believes to be

right. She fights society in two ways by doing this. One way is by showing the people around her

that even though she is a mother, let alone a female, she still has the courage to change the world.

The second way is that in her specified society there is an unsaid social norm of resenting the

Germans, but she still fights for her happiness despite how society looks at her.

To make sense of the behavior of Elizabeth and Juliet, we have to consider the needs and

specific circumstances of the islanders, both during the war and post-war. Cheryl R. Jorgensen-

Earp, author of Discourse and Defiance Under Nazi Occupation : Guernsey, Channel Islands,

19401945, writes about the real life in the Guernsey island during the German Occupation.

Jorgensen-Earp says, First, Islanders needed to feel supported by their families and neighbors in
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the basic necessities of life (58). What this quote tells us is that back in the life of Guernsey

during World War II, Islanders all wished for comfort and the feeling of safety from others.

Elizabeth and Juliet have both done this for the people of Guernsey, theyve individually done

their part to make them feel secure which makes them both conform and rebel from their gender

norms. Elizabeth, for example, contributed to the people of Guernsey by making them feel as if

they were not under German control. She did this by demonstrating bravery, when hiding the

runaway from the Germans, putting together a literary society, and by helping around with the

younger children of the island like Eli. These acts show both a radical and a conforming nature.

When she hides the runaway it is seen as both radical and conforming. Because of the fact that

she is rebelling German law, she's seen as a radical for both women and as a society in general;

but she is also nurturing the male runaway which is seen as conforming to her gender by being a

subordinate to the male. Juliet has done similar, however, her contribution was done post-war.

She takes Kit, Elizabeths daughter, under her own care, wishes for the story of the Guernsey

people to become known, and defends Elizabeths honor when people speak bad of her. Similar

to Elizabeth, Juliet is also seen here as a radical and a conformer. She is seen a gender conformer

when she takes Kit to take care of her and also makes plans to adopt her. In a small way, one can

see how this can be a radical act towards her gender. It can be portrayed this way because Juliet

is intimidated to approach Mr. Dilwyn about applying to adopt Kit, but she musters the strength

to still bring up the topic. By doing so, she breaks the expected gender norm of staying quiet and

stands up for her wishes.

Part of being human means to live your life comfortably and sometimes you have to fight

for your comfort, in this case being a gender radical. At the same time, people sometimes
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conform with their gender only to not stir up conflict within society. Nicholl and Robinson, in the

article Understanding Motivational IQ in Women Officers, say that We relate to rules

'conforming state we are likely to see the virtue in fitting in, playing by the rules, not rocking the

boat. In the rebelling state', however, we are inclined to challenge the status quo and the rules.

We value our personal freedom and do not want to have others impose their expectations. This

quote explains that people like to fit in, no one likes to be an outcast. However, sometimes they

are pushed to the edge then decide to rebel against their socially constructed norms to reinstate

their values and their comfort. This relates to the two characters, Juliet and Elizabeth, a great deal

because of how they've experienced both states that Nicholl and Robinson explain. Elizabeths

encounter can be seen when she challenges the germans indirectly by forming the Guernsey

literary and potato peel pie society. Juliets encounter can be seen when she writes a letter to

Sidney about not wanting to cause trouble in the incident with Gilly Gilbert. She didn't want to

rock the boat but as things were heating up she threw hot tea at Gilbert, it is said in the text that

Gilbert is a vile person in which forced Juliet to act out of proportion. To simplify, in this specific

occasion Juliet had no direct intention to challenge the expected norms, she remained passive,

which aligns with her gender performance. However, through the constant pressure she was

pushed to become radical.

Elizabeth McKenna and Juliet Ashton both have demonstrated remarkable radicalism and

conformity in their socially constructed gender roles. This goes to show just how much gender is

like a balance in which a person can choose where they are comfortable and not forced. These

two characters show this fluidity of gender. With the understanding that the novel being fiction,

their radicalism plays the greater role in inspiration rather than conformity. Because of the time
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period in which the novel took place, it was difficult to find radical women who are not afraid of

rebelling against their gender and both Elizabeth and Juliet were just the perfect examples.
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Works Cited

Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. Composing

Gender. Eds. Rachael Groner and John F. OHara. Boston, Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. pp.

40-42.

Gandio, Jason Del. A Call To Rhetorical Action. Rhetoric for Radicals: a Handbook for 21st

Century Activists, New Society Publishers, 2008, pp. 220.

Jorgensen-Earp, Cheryl R. Chapter Two. Discourse and Defiance under Nazi Occupation:

Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1940 - 1945, Michigan State Univ. Press, 2013, p. 58.

Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender.

Eds. Rachael Groner and John F. OHara. Boston, Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. pp. 28.

Nicholl, Caroline G., and Sandra F. Robinson. "Understanding Motivational IQ in Women

Officers." WomenPolice, vol. 38, no. 2, 2004, pp. 6-9, GenderWatch,