This Is How It Always Is

Throughout the novel, Frankel debunks the validity of gendered behavior. Poppy is far from the only character who strays from the confines of traditional gender roles. The stability and effectiveness of Penn and Rosie’s relationship is a testament to the ways in which assumptions about gendered behavior are flawed. While Penn takes care of domestic duties, Rosie is the breadwinner. Rosie is pragmatic where Penn is creative, bordering on idealistic. When Mr. Tongo asks him to track Poppy’s gendered behavior, Penn realizes that many of his other children’s behavior does not align with traditional gender roles, nor does his relationship with Rosie. He teases Rosie: “It’s very boy-column even to be attracted to such a girly fellow as this” (72).

Even less-central characters, such as Cayenne, Ben, and Aggie, illustrate the fallacy of normative gender roles. Within Cayenne and Ben’s relationship, Cayenne exhibits stereotypical masculine nonchalance while Ben is sentimental and love sick, behavior typically categorized as “feminine.” For her part, Aggie takes pride in being anti-feminine, shouting and stomping about in play, getting dirty, being unabashedly naked, and, when she gets older, complaining about her female anatomy. Furthermore, Frankel points out the subtle distinction between many gendered behaviors.