Tomboy by Liz Prince
Tomboy by Liz Prince
Reviewed by: Sara Humzeh, Hannah Fierheller, Tyler Hansen,
and Hallie Houdetsanakis
Review:
Biography:
Liz Prince is an American young adult author whose first
book, Will You Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed, was published in
2005 and her first graphic novel, Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir, was
published in 2014. She is an American comics creator who initially started self
publishing on her own on the Internet. She was born in Boston but grew up in
Santa Fe. As a young girl, she played Little League Baseball. She returned to
Boston to go to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and received her BFA
there. In her graphic novel, Tomboy, she explores what it means to
be female, not just for herself but for other young girls regardless if they
are going through her struggles or not, and Prince also tackles gender issues
in her graphic novel. The novel follows her experiences growing up as she
slowly learns what it means for her to be comfortable in her own skin. She has
utilized her talents to help support the Boston Ladyfest in order to raise
money for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion fund. This helped to create a
network of creative feminists not just in Boston but all over the United States.
Prince also created dozens of comics along with freelance work for Cartoon
Network comics for TV shows such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Clarence.
Instructional
Resources:
1. Center For The Advancement Of Health. "Study Suggests That Tomboys May Be Born, Not Made." ScienceDaily, 12
November 2002.
This article talks about the biological makeup of tomboys and the possibility
of girls being born tomboys or, in other words, that biology influences who or
how girls will identify. This will help broaden students' knowledge of the
influence of nature, people's biological makeup, and nurture, how children are
influenced by others and themselves.
2. “A
Class That Turned Around Kids' Assumptions of Gender Roles!” YouTube,
YouTube, 1 Sept. 2016.
This YouTube video shows children in a classroom in England,
and the children are asked by the teacher to draw their idea of a firefighter,
a surgeon, and someone from the Air Force. The video reveals the
stereotypes children assume in the workforce and breaks the perception of the
jobs women are capable of doing. This can break down the perceptions of what
children think women can only be or have to be in the workplace.
3. “Gender
Stereotypes and Education.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Aug.
2017.
This YouTube video shows the gender stereotypes that are put upon
children at a young age and how stereotypes follow and affect them throughout
their lives. The stereotypes shape them and influence who they will be and what
careers they will be more likely to pursue later in life. This video can give
them a window into the lens of the power of stereotypes.
4. "He Said/She Said: Analyzing Gender Roles through
Dialogue - ReadWriteThink.” Readwritethink.org.
This article is an example article for how teachers can
construct their classroom to cater to the unit they are teaching, specifically
about gender roles through dialogue. This can be used by teachers for them to
pick what they like out of the lesson plan and incorporate it into their
own.
This YouTube video shows an interview of children from
around the world all describing their opinions on being a boy or girl. The video
asks the children too their opinions of being the opposite sex as well, along
with how they would change the world and what they want to be when they grow
up. The video could be used in class to show the differences between how
opposite sexes see each other, and it can be used to widen students'
understanding of gender experiences.
This is a comic that explains comics as a whole, what it takes to create a
comic, all of the creative and hard work it takes to make a comic, along with
knowing how to write well and use art to tell a story. This could be used in
the classroom to show the different ways there are to create comics and to show
that they can create their own however they see fit.
7. Singh, Manjari. "Gender Issues in Children's Literature." eric.ed.gov, ERIC
Development Team, 1998.
This article discusses gender issues in children's literature. It goes into
detail about gender bias and depictions along with the roles that they are
placed in within the world of the books. Furthermore, the article provides
a way to promote gender equality when it comes to choosing literature to teach
in the classroom. This can be helpful to the teacher when choosing books for
their students to read.
8. “StopBullying.gov.” StopBullying.gov,
Department of Health and Human Services.
This website goes into detail about what bullying and cyberbullying is along
with how both adults and children can spot it and then therefore hopefully
prevent it. The site breaks down bullying even further and talks about groups
that are bullied, who is at risk, and the effects bullying has on children.
This can be helpful for teachers and students to be able to recognize when
others are being bullied and what to do to combat the issue.
Instructional Activity:
Tomboy by Liz Prince
Reviewed by: Sara Humzeh, Hannah Fierheller, Tyler Hansen,
and Hallie Houdetsanakis
Liz Prince is an American young adult author whose first
book, Will You Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed, was published in
2005 and her first graphic novel, Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir, was
published in 2014. She is an American comics creator who initially started self
publishing on her own on the Internet. She was born in Boston but grew up in
Santa Fe. As a young girl, she played Little League Baseball. She returned to
Boston to go to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and received her BFA
there. In her graphic novel, Tomboy, she explores what it means to
be female, not just for herself but for other young girls regardless if they
are going through her struggles or not, and Prince also tackles gender issues
in her graphic novel. The novel follows her experiences growing up as she
slowly learns what it means for her to be comfortable in her own skin. She has
utilized her talents to help support the Boston Ladyfest in order to raise
money for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion fund. This helped to create a
network of creative feminists not just in Boston but all over the United States.
Prince also created dozens of comics along with freelance work for Cartoon
Network comics for TV shows such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Clarence.This article talks about the biological makeup of tomboys and the possibility of girls being born tomboys or, in other words, that biology influences who or how girls will identify. This will help broaden students' knowledge of the influence of nature, people's biological makeup, and nurture, how children are influenced by others and themselves.
2. “A Class That Turned Around Kids' Assumptions of Gender Roles!” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Sept. 2016.
3. “Gender Stereotypes and Education.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Aug. 2017.
This YouTube video shows the gender stereotypes that are put upon children at a young age and how stereotypes follow and affect them throughout their lives. The stereotypes shape them and influence who they will be and what careers they will be more likely to pursue later in life. This video can give them a window into the lens of the power of stereotypes.
This is a comic that explains comics as a whole, what it takes to create a comic, all of the creative and hard work it takes to make a comic, along with knowing how to write well and use art to tell a story. This could be used in the classroom to show the different ways there are to create comics and to show that they can create their own however they see fit.
7. Singh, Manjari. "Gender Issues in Children's Literature." eric.ed.gov, ERIC Development Team, 1998.
This article discusses gender issues in children's literature. It goes into detail about gender bias and depictions along with the roles that they are placed in within the world of the books. Furthermore, the article provides a way to promote gender equality when it comes to choosing literature to teach in the classroom. This can be helpful to the teacher when choosing books for their students to read.
8. “StopBullying.gov.” StopBullying.gov, Department of Health and Human Services.
This website goes into detail about what bullying and cyberbullying is along with how both adults and children can spot it and then therefore hopefully prevent it. The site breaks down bullying even further and talks about groups that are bullied, who is at risk, and the effects bullying has on children. This can be helpful for teachers and students to be able to recognize when others are being bullied and what to do to combat the issue.
Write Your Own Comic!
|
Students will be encouraged to write their own comic and
keep a journal of their experiences just like the author. They can
use the comic as a lens to speak about their own life or voice their opinions
to critique cultural, political and gender issues. Hopefully students will
discover the empowerment of writing.
Draw a comic, 6-8 pages in length, with 3 or 4 panels per
page, depicting a single event in which the student felt they were
misunderstood. It does not have to relate to gender identity but it
demonstrates that everyone is misunderstood or misrepresented at some point and
feels bad about it.
There can be either a handout with blank panels already created and arranged or blank pieces of paper for those who want more freedom in their story. The panels must contain both pictures and speech/thought bubbles but can be simple with stick figure drawings or pictures from magazines or clip art from online.
The purpose of this assignment is to record experiences or opinions using the same techniques as the author. Below are some basic templates that students can get ideas from or use to create their comics. Students are welcome to create their own panels.
Sample sheet of what can be cut out and pasted on the
comics.
California Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.3
Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions
between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or
categories).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.5
Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a
text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a
key concept.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization,
and analysis of relevant content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and
well-structured event sequences.
Resources and
Preparation:
Tomboy explores the identity and performative gender as Liz navigates the transition from childhood to adolescence and finally adulthood. It is necessary for young students to understand the differences in gender identity, expression, biological sex, and sexual orientation for themselves and their peers.
Below are examples of comic book strategies or ideas that students can copy. The importance of the comic book is about the ability to tell a story not how well-drawn the artwork might be. Remember, students can use any material when deciding what imagery they want to use for the comic, including print-outs and pictures cut from magazines.
Instructional
Plan:
8th Grade English Language Arts:
This project will span a two week period. The teacher will assign a Story Map worksheet to students as they start the
graphic memoir. The teacher will also assign an in-class story map so the students
will learn the Freytag's Pyramid storyline to learn the writing process.
Week One Instruction:
This will help them in the process of learning how to create their own
storyline for the comic project. The students can also use this template to
fill out the details they want to include in their comic before completing the
final project in comic form.
Week Two Instruction:
“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Liz Prince.” Liz
Prince, lizprincepower.com/about-liz.
Revolvy, LLC. “Liz Prince.” Trivia Quizzes,
www.revolvy.com/page/Liz-Prince.
Carr, Lynn C. "Tomboy Resistance and Conformity: Agency in Social
Psychological Gender Theory." Gender and Society, Vol.
12, No. 5, pp. 528-553. (Oct. 1998). Sage Publications.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/190119
Abate, Michelle Ann. Tomboys. "The Tomboy Becomes the
"Odd Girl Out": Ann Bannon's Women in the Shadows." Temple
University Press, 2008. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt346.13
This project will span a two week period. The teacher will assign a Story Map worksheet to students as they start the graphic memoir. The teacher will also assign an in-class story map so the students will learn the Freytag's Pyramid storyline to learn the writing process.
This will help them in the process of learning how to create their own storyline for the comic project. The students can also use this template to fill out the details they want to include in their comic before completing the final project in comic form.
Week Two Instruction:
Revolvy, LLC. “Liz Prince.” Trivia Quizzes, www.revolvy.com/page/Liz-Prince.
Carr, Lynn C. "Tomboy Resistance and Conformity: Agency in Social Psychological Gender Theory." Gender and Society, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 528-553. (Oct. 1998). Sage Publications. https://www.jstor.org/stable/190119
Abate, Michelle Ann. Tomboys. "The Tomboy Becomes the "Odd Girl Out": Ann Bannon's Women in the Shadows." Temple University Press, 2008. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt346.13
