The graphic memoir Tomboy by Liz Prince does a really good job with showing identity and societal pressures to conform. It also shows the importance of parental support in learning about identity. I just wrote about a short personal narrative about a time a book influenced me, and a big part of my narrative was about my struggle with figuring out how I liked to present myself. When I was younger, I felt that being “girly” meant that I couldn’t be strong or couldn’t reach certain goals in life. I started to dislike wearing dresses and doing stereotypical “girly” things. It took me a while, but I discovered I could still achieve what I wanted to even if I presented myself in a more feminine manner, so this reading connected to me in a more personal way because even though I don’t present myself in the same way as the author.
I also like the references to the princesses because I mentioned the same thing in my writing. So many movies geared towards young girls show how dainty women are and how the men have to save them. I makes girls feel inferior and also makes them feel like they can’t reach the goals they want to. One of my favorite princesses is Tiana because she worked hard to get what she wanted. Merida is also a princess that stood out to me because she fought for what she wanted. She didn’t have a prince waiting for her (nor did she want one to) and she defied societal standards because she didn’t want to fit in.
I also like how the author mentions how she likes to draw and her dream job was to become an animator and the style of the memoir was through drawings. This also added to Prince’s identity as being a creative person and shows that she achieved her goal in the end.
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