Gender Roles

There are many instances in the reading where it is pretty obvious Esperanza is struggling with the gender roles. From beginning to end she is confused at which role she really wants. This leads her to change her opinion and desires many times during the story.
One of the longest chapters in the story is when her and her sisters get to wear and run around in women's shoes. She obviously enjoys this until they are bothered and solicited by the Bum Man. This bad experience leads to her not really caring that her mother threw the shoes away.
At one time she talks highly of Sally and how she wants to be just like her. She thinks Sally is beautiful, and likes the way she dresses, and wishes Sally could teach her how to be this way. Then a few pages later she is calling Sally a liar because of the awful experience by the red clowns.
It also shows how she is confused in what she says about her hips while they are jump roping. She says "I don't care what kind I get as long as I get hips." She is pretty much saying here that she hasn't made up her mind yet what kind of woman she wants to be but she knows she wants to be one.
These are just a few of the examples of her being confused with gender roles. Its interesting but not really surprising that men are the main reason of why she is so confused. The bad experiences she had with them and the horrible way she was treated by some of them made her not want to play the traditional role of women. It seems to me a part of her wishes to rebel against "the traditional role," but also there is still a little part of her that wants to be like Sally and her Mom.