"But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading"—The Cement Garden quote

[juushika]

Julie took a deep breath and her voice dropped to a murmur. "Girls can wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it's okay to be a boy; for girls it's like a promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading. Why else would you think it's humiliating for Tom to wear a frock?"

"Because it is," I said determinedly.

"But why?" Jule and Sue called together, and before I could think of anything Julie said, "If I wore your trousers to school tomorrow and you wore my skirt, we'd soon see who had the worse time. Everyone would point at you and laugh." Here Julie pointed across the table, her fingers inches from my nose.

"Look at him! He looks just like ... ugh! ... a girl!"

"And look at her"—Sue was pointing at Julie—"she looks rather ... clever in those trousers." My two sisters laughed so hard they collapsed in each other's arms.

—The Cement Garden, Ian McEwan, 55-6

This thought has been on my mind lately for no particular reason; I didn't expect to encounter it in this of all books. I withhold judgement about whether or not I'm glad to see it there until I know how the sex and gender themes play out, but the above excerpt at least I like and pass on to you.