Although women are still the primary housewives, being the nurturers and the ones in charge of keeping their family life running smoothly, men have begun to take on some responsibilities roles that were once expected only of women, creating an entirely new dynamic in the average home. If you had told someone 100 years ago that women would have the right to vote, or could be world-class scholars, serve in the military, or even run for president, they probably would have laughed in your face and told you that women are good for one thing, and one thing only: being a wife and mother. Women were meant to be seen and not heard. They had to cook, clean, do laundry, be the perfect wife, and take care of all their husband's needs. In the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother talks to her daughter about all the things a respectful lady does. He is telling his young daughter that if she acts like a slut no one will respect her in society. The mother in this story seems extremely brutal to us but, being a teenager not that long ago, I know that I personally would have taken this approach very negatively. The way her mother refers to her as a slut several times in the text seems very accusatory and demeaning. When you're a teenager, everything your parents say seems stupid or useless. Her mother hurls insults and hammers mountains of information into her head. No one learns through condescending tone and insult, especially not a girl coming of age. Not to say that your daughter won't learn these life lessons in time. It takes more than a day to learn everything her mother taught her in this tale. She also appears to be relatively young and immature. While I'm sure her mother is just trying to prepare her to become a responsible adult in the real world, the way she does it doesn't seem