Negotiating Girlhood: Gender Expectations in Reda Gaudiamo's Na Willa

Abstract

Reda Gaudiamo’s Na Willa has received scholarly attention from various perspectives, yet its representation of the protagonist specifically as a girl remains underexplored. This study examines how gender expectations surrounding girlhood are represented and negotiated through Na Willa’s everyday experiences. Using a descriptive qualitative design and qualitative content analysis, the study draws on Butler’s gender performativity and Driscoll’s conceptualization of girlhood as a culturally constructed category. The findings show that Na Willa neither simply reinforces nor rejects conventional gender expectations. Instead, girlhood emerges through differing expectations communicated by family, peers, and community, alongside Na Willa’s own interests and experiences. Mak’s selective responses further complicate these expectations by questioning some gendered boundaries while maintaining others related to Na Willa’s position as a child. The novel thus represents girlhood through multiple possibilities, expectations, and boundaries rather than a singular model of femininity. This study contributes to gender studies in children’s literature by highlighting girlhood as a negotiated category beyond a simple conformity-resistance binary.