Most of the girls in Barry’s childhood neighborhood are tomboys. In the nicer neighborhoods, the girls are much more girlish. Barry notices that the girls in the nice neighborhood have more clothes and toys, and nice, long hair. Barry wonders if she would have been more girlish if she’d had these things. Barry’s mother presents in a feminine way, sporting long hair, jewelry, pretty clothes, and perfume, but when Barry asks if she can grow her hair out too, her mother tells her it would look bad. Despite loving girlish things, Barry’s mother grows enraged when she sees actual girls with girlish things. Barry feels her own furious envy growing when she sees those girls. Adult Barry reflects that her mother was likely jealous too, and bitter that her own girlhood was consumed by war—Barry’s mother has told her stories of starving and hiding in cemeteries.

There is one other girl on Barry’s childhood street who presents girlishly. Mariko is half Japanese and half-Mexican, and Barry considers her beautiful. Barry’s life is the opposite of Mariko’s is many ways. Mariko’s mom stays home all day and yells at Mariko when she gets mud on her shoes, while Barry’s mother works and Barry’s shoes are always muddy.