Girls & Boys

      I  think Cisenero is is trying to show that boys and girls are not treated equally at a young age. They are in fact treated way differently and sexually segregated.  Her brother are never really talked about unless she needs to back up. They never really seems to interfere in her life that much. What  she's trying to imply is that women have to be independent & ready for boys. And all boys really have to do is be "on top", & notice girls so then the females notice them. At that point, it's a fair exchange for both sexes, but the difference is that women should be set aside from men. In order for guys to attract, they must be opposite.

  Shown on page 27 Marin says " What matters Marin says is for the boys to see us, and for us to see them"
That right there shows  how much the girls think about just boys. In that simple statement it says so much. Females have to "be on top"  and they have to keep the ball rolling. Both sexes have to try to attract the opposite gender, but the problem is that the females seem to be under more pressure. Esperanza seems to be more stressed and worried. As if everyones ahead of her and shes trying to catch up.

   Still, women seem to have to be "chasing" the men half the time. As stated on page 88 " Nenny says she won't  wait her whole life for a husband to come & get her...way either", They all want a man, but they all are running for them. The females are under an extreme amount of pressure to  be the best. And the girl with the best relationship or the "man" then they seem more locked. The man seems to just be his best and then take control. To downgrade the female.

And last females have to be seductive. Sexy, sleek. Yes. The S words. The ones men seem to be attracted to. On page 89 "In the movies...there is the one that is beautiful and cruel", Eperanze shows about the trance women put men in. Their also there to drive men insane and keep more coming and going.

Women are like a deadly trap in this book. But their also looked down on. Men seem to play no part except for the sexually aggressive and dominant part.