A Girl's Exchange Value

Clean the pots and pans with Kleen King; use hot water for the rinse; mop the kitchen floor with soap first and then once again with hot clean water to make sure it is clean; change the sheets on your bed every Saturday; when cleaning the bathroom don’t forget the base of the toilet or the walls surrounding it; clean all garbage cans each week and replace the liners; always wear stockings with dresses to make the proper impression; low cut blouses are for those other girls; every meal should have the proper balance of meat to vegetables; freeze your flour to prevent the bug eggs from hatching in it; homemade cookies are better than store-bought; freeze your yeast to make it last longer; use fabric softener instead of dryer sheets to keep your clothes fresh longer; check the expiration dates on dairy products before putting them in your shopping cart; wash your hands after coming home from the store, you don't know where that money has been; fold the shopping bags and put them away to keep the counters clear.....

I could go on and on just as Jamaica Kincaid could.

Jamaica Kincaid was born in 1946; this was the beginning of the Baby Boomers. Being at the end of that same cultural group. AS young children and women we had that voice in our heads of what we could and should do in order to make ourselves marriageable. We were raised from birth as a commodity to be traded. We were being taught from a very young age to give ourselves exchange value. Our mothers bought us little ironing boards and irons, mops and brooms; we had aprons just like our mother’s. If we could keep a clean and organized house, make sure we had all the skills necessary to make a good match, and the more valuable we were as women and potential primary care-givers, the better our circumstances in marriage would be.

Each line is given the same importance through Kincaid’s style of writing. Not using capital letters or periods to separate her sentences helps the reader to understand the importance of each thought running through her head. Each thought is equally important and necessary for the level of exchange value. The thoughts of not becoming “the slut you are so bent on becoming” is also important to the ideology of exchange value. A slut will not have the same exchange value as the pure young woman, thus by repeating these thoughts they get stuck in her head and make her think twice about that low cut blouse or high rise skirt.