![]() ![]() The next Monday, we see Penelope dressing in a shirt and tie for school. ![]() This feels like a lesson in confident masculinity, in itself an affirmation of Penelope’s identity. Penelope’s father then says that if Penelope is a boy, he has to tell him himself. Penelope’s big brother still doesn’t understand, but their mother says that it doesn’t need to make sense to him. We don’t use gender pronouns.” This is a much-needed reminder for readers that the traditional Western view of gender isn’t all there is. The grandfather comments that in his language of Twi, “gender isn’t such a big deal. ![]() His Grandpa G flies in from Ghana for Penelope’s birthday party, and his mother tells him of Penelope’s gender. In the next spread, Penelope has a new, shorter haircut. ![]() His mother agrees unconditionally, and says they’ll make a plan to tell “everyone we love” that he is a boy. I want to be Papa.” He asks her to help him be a boy, holding her hand to “transfer some of my ninja powers to help her understand.” The first-person perspective of the book helps readers connect with Penelope’s feelings, perhaps nowhere more than in this scene. His mother finally asks why he’s so angry, and he replies, “Because everyone thinks I’m a girl.” It’s fine to feel like a boy, his mother responds, and he counters that he doesn’t just feel like a boy, “I AM a boy.” She listens quietly as he explains, “I love you, Mama, but I don’t want to be you. “I love you, Mama, but I don’t want to be you. ![]()
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May 2023
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