By Ledia Gjoka

Gender comes with responsibilities in society, known by the term gender roles. Traditionally, females have the roles of homemaker and caretaker, and males have the roles of breadwinner and protector. The taking on of gender roles is sometimes called gender identity, but this is very rigid. The juggling of gendered tasks creates a fluid gender identity. However, the gender roles in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton are left in an uncertain state because of the untraditional situation of the Curtis family. While maintaining their traditional male gender roles, the Curtis brothers also adapt traditional female gender roles into their everyday lives, creating a fluid state of gender identity.

The Curtis brothers all excel at their traditional male roles. They are all greasers who take pride in their familial gang. Each brother has his own role in the family, and in the gang. Darry, the eldest, is the family’s pseudo parent and the unofficial leader of the gang. Sodapop, the middle brother, is the middle ground between his two clashing brothers, and the handsomest member of the gang, though still able to hold his own. Ponyboy, the youngest in both parties, is the one who excels at school. Each brother can fight. The book contains a number of scuffles, with one climaxing showdown between the greasers and the Socs. This showdown is an example of the capability of the Curtis boys to protect their family, their gang, and their stuff.

At the core of the identity fluidity, however, is the nontraditional status of the Curtis family. Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry are orphaned when their parents die in a car accident. Because they do not have a caretaker, the brothers take on different roles regarding the household. Each brother has a responsibility in traditionally feminine domestic house-care from day to day, including cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop have the responsibility of breadwinning. Both brothers work and provide money for the family, Darry working two manual labor jobs instead of attending college, and Sodapop working at a gas station after dropping out of high school. But this does not mean that Ponyboy is solely responsible for taking care of the house.

The domestic aspect of the Curtis boys’ life is not seen until mid-way through the book. The morning after Ponyboy returns from the hospital, he is the first one to wake. After having spent a long period of time away from his house, he easily falls into a comfortable morning routine. “The first one up has to fix breakfast and the other two do the dishes. That’s the rule around our house…” (Hinton 104). Both aspects of this house rule are feminine duties, most often left to the mother of a household, especially in the mid-century, Middle America setting of The Outsiders. But because there is no mother figure, the brothers have simplified the responsibilities to whoever wakes up first. In this in instance, Ponyboy is in charged of making breakfast. Continuing in this scene comes the varieties of preferences regarding breakfast preparation. “We all like our eggs done differently. I like them hard, Darry likes them in a bacon-and-tomato sandwich, and Sodapop eats his with grape jelly” (Hinton 104). The differences in egg preferences are interesting and show insight into each character; however, Ponyboy’s knowledge of the preferences is the important factor. A common responsibility of a traditional mother is knowing the food preferences of those she cares for. The brothers have learned each other’s preferences and are capable of properly preparing breakfast for the family.

The preparation of breakfast is not the lone aspect of culinary roles. A glimmer of the Curtis family’s unconventional life is their breakfast, as they all eat homemade chocolate cake as part of the meal. “Sodapop always makes sure there’s some [chocolate cake] in the icebox every night and if there isn’t he cooks one up real quick” (Hinton 105). Cooking is a gender-neutral responsibility; both genders must eat to survive. However, baking is often strongly regarded as a feminine trait. But the Curtis boys bake chocolate cake to enjoy as part of their breakfast. Sodapop has not only taken on the responsibility of making sure there is chocolate cake to eat, and also supplying it so that it will be available. However, Ponyboy also remarks, “I like Darry’s cakes better; Sodapop puts too much sugar in the icing” (Hinton 105). This shows that the boys have experimented with their baking; they do not strictly follow a recipe. They are curious and willing to experiment in a traditionally feminine zone. Sodapop is not the sole supplier of chocolate cake, although he does track its availability. It is a shared duty between the brothers. The preparation of food is not the only domestic responsibility the boys have changed.

Keeping a household involves not only cooking, but also cleaning. While the maintenance of the house is not described, the rule described in Ponyboy’s first morning back states, “…the other two do the dishes” (Hinton 104). Traditionally, cleaning up would be done by a mother, or at least by a woman. However, because the brothers lack a female in their family, they have once again adapted. Where the first brother awake will prepare breakfast, the other two must wash the dishes. The logic can also be applied to the other meals the brothers share, where those that did not cook must wash. It demonstrates that no one brother has the responsibility that comes with meals, but that it is a team, or rather family, effort.

A different, but related, form of cleaning is that of laundry. Laundry has been long considered a feminine duty. However, as with every other feminine duty regarding a household, the Curtis brothers have taken it on. As Ponyboy prepares breakfast and catches up with the other members of the gang, Two-Bit and Steve, Darry and Sodapop wake and ready themselves for work. In this scene, with a hint that the brothers will be late for work, the issue of laundry arises. “Soda[pop] came running in. ‘Where’s that blue shirt I washed yesterday?… Where’re those wheat jeans, too?” (Hinton 109). Arguably, each brother may be responsible for washing his own clothes, but this point is not clarified in the novel. However, in the same scene; the issue of ironing is resolved. “’I ironed [those jeans]. They’re in my closet.’ Darry said” (Hinton 109). Darry has taken the responsibility of ironing the clothes, and not only his own. His action of ironing Sodapop’s clothes may branch from his role as parent, the concern of making sure his brother is presentable at work. But more likely, the laundry duty is separated between the two older brothers, where Sodapop washes and Darry irons; or perhaps one brother washes and the other two iron, or vice versa. This would relate to the house rule regarding breakfast and washing dishes. However, sufficient evidence is not provided by Ponyboy’s narration.

The Curtis brothers accept a nontraditional set of gender roles. Their traditional roles of protectors, fighters, and breadwinners are not to be questioned as they are shown through the novel. However, because of their unusual family situation, the orphaned brothers have adapted to female gender roles. Cooking and cleaning, the caring of the house, are separated amongst the boys in the practice of first-come-first-serve basis. The brothers must juggle gender roles because of the lack a female presence in their home, and must take up the traditional female gender roles to survive. This juggling and taking on of the various roles, the Curtis brothers show a fluid gender identity. The fluidity the brothers’ showcase reveals that even the gender roles society assigns may be less rigid than they seem.