Raymond's Run Essay On Identity

For some people, fitting in is hard; some people are just not like everybody else, some people are different, and some people accept that, and embrace it. They do not care that they are different--”But I know I’m a gem/ I ain’t worried about it/ I ain’t worried about it” they know that they are perfect in their own right, they are gems, even if no one else sees it. The problem arises when millions of girls and boys alike are told that they should behave in a certain way by society. Young children are constantly victims to stereotypes, these influences form their gender expectations and sense of identity. However, once you enter your adolescence you realize that it is not so black and white, and those beliefs are delivered thanks to the news, authors of books, and singers which kids look up to. A character that feels like a gem in disguise is Squeaky, the protagonist of “Raymond's Run” by Toni Cade Bambara. She lives in Harlem New York during the 1960s and faces the challenges of gender stereotypes and identity. She struggles with meeting her mother's expectations of being a “fairy”, or a “flower” and still not betraying her identity as a masculine athlete. Expectations of a well behaved or respected girl float around her, leaving her conscious to all the evil in the world-- society

always screaming that she is not good enough-- Squeaky left always to internally argue one of the main themes in “Raymond’s Run”: gender stereotypes.
A recurring theme in “Raymond’s Run” is Gender Stereotypes, Meghan Trainor’s song “I’m a Lady” tells how you should accept that you are different-- while Squeaky wants to and acts like she has accepted the way society looks at her, and that none of it matters; it does not come to her naturally.

However, she must continue to remind herself that it is alright for her to be different than all the girls in her neighborhood and that she is perfect just the way she is. Just like in Meghan Trainor's song when she says, “ I won’t play follow the leader,” Squeaky lives in a time when girls were expected to act gentle and behave like flowers. To make this message clear the author

writes:
The biggest thing on the program is the May Pole dancing, which I can do without, thank you, even if my mother thinks that it’s a shame I don’t take part and act like a girl for a change. (p. 31, lines 175-178)
This quote proves that Squeaky does not pretend to act like what she is not; she does not follow the leader or the crowd. This also shows that her mother is pressuring her to be more girly. That is why her life is constantly interrupted by her thoughts as she tries to convince herself that she is perfect, because she lacks support from her mother. Because of the lack of support Squeaky has from her mother, Squeaky becomes more insecure and puts up a portfolio of being the toughest one on the block, warning people not to mess with her. Squeaky wants to be tough and make sure that no one can get to her, unfortunately for Squeaky she does not realize that there is strength in numbers. However, Meghan Trainor does realize this which is why she says in her song, “ All my girls, show them you’re a lady/ Tell the world, say you’re proud to be a lady.” Squeaky wishes that girls would stand up to stereotypes; she wishes they would be less sad. To further prove this point the author writes:
Gretchen smiles, but it it’s not a smile, and I’m thinking that girls don’t know how and don’t want to know how and there's probably no one to teach us how, cause grown-up girls don’t know how either. (p. 30, lines 147-151)
Squeaky feels that no one really knows how to be friendly, however she specifically mentions girls. The author is telling us that life is tough for girls and women; she is showing how they do not really know how to have friends and open up to others. This must be slightly or even drastically because of their gender roles. By shining a light on negative stereotypes, the author allows girls to realize that that even if you are not like your gender stereotype you’re still “a gem;” like Meghan Trainor's song, Squeaky “ain’t worried about it,” because she knows that if people can not accept her for who she is, it is their loss. Which is why the Author’s theme is gender stereotypes he talks about the struggles of not fitting your stereotype and how it should not matter that she is girl, rather her characteristics as a person and human being to support his universal theme of gender stereotypes.
“Raymond’s Run” talks about the struggles a young girl, by the name of Squeaky, faces as she goes through life as an athletic girl in Harlem, during the 1960s. A theme throughout the story is gender stereotypes. Her realization that society treats women and men differently just makes her more passionate to prove that she is capable of anything, and that being different is not a bad thing. If Squeaky did not have this epiphany, then life would be very difficult for her; one especially big challenge would be her relationship with her mother, which is already rigid. People around Squeaky are in the “water”; the water is when people are facing discrimination but are not noticing it because it happens constantly and to everyone. People Squeaky cares about are stuck in the water of gender stereotypes-- they do not realize it but they are treated, and treat others, differently based on their gender. While Squeaky is fortunate to have had her epiphany, it is still very unfortunate that this problem still exists, and to be troubled by this at such a young age is bewildering. Too bad for Squeaky that she did not live during the 21st century where she would have heard songs like Meghan Trainor's, “I’m a Lady”. Instead, she is encouraged to behave as something that she is not, such as a “strawberry,” “fairy,” or a “flower,” even though this does do not match her personality or the way she thinks of herself; yet this is most important because if you don’t love yourself, no one will, if you don’t believe in yourself, no one will, if you don’t push yourself to be the best, then you won’t ever get better.