Kelly's Role in Melissa

     Over the course of Alex Gino's, Melissa, I was continuously struck by the portrayal of young students gaining access to vocabulary, becoming confident in their identities, and supporting one another. Specifically, these instances were depicted by Melissa and Kelly. I found this novel to be especially poignant for its its representation of young children understanding concepts of gender identity and handling the subject matter with care. 

    For instance, in the scene where Kelly first acknowledges the fact that Melissa is a girl, she says "I'm sorry I ignored you last week...and you know what? If you think you're a girl...then I think you're a girl too!" (Gino 104). Immediately following Kelly's reassurance, "the open-mouth surprise and joy on George's face only made Kelly smile harder" (104). In many ways, this scene reminded me of the moment that Justin comes out to Callie in Drama. Both scenes depict a character accepting the identity of their friend with genuine care, and at the same time, a sense of ease and nonchalance. Scenes such as these prove that it is important to acknowledge one another's identities with compassion and vulnerability, while also understanding that coming out is nothing that warrants an over-the-top, ground-breaking reaction. This scene between Kelly and Melissa depicts the open-mindedness of young children that is so often overlooked. Our class has continuously discussed the notion that books like Drama, Gender Queer, and Melissa are banned in school libraries because parents fear that their children will be traumatized by the content within them, or will not understand the books' topics altogether. This scene proves that in reality, it is quite the contrary. If our younger generations can be so readily accepting of all identities, why can't their parents?

    Another scene that I noted while reading is the moment in which Kelly supports Melissa's desires to play Charlotte in the school play. Melissa begins, "It's just...I just thought that...you know...if I were Charlotte in the play, my mom might..." (132). After she trails off, Kelly concludes that Melissa's mom might "see that you are a girl?" (Gino 132). Melissa thinks, "it felt funny to hear Kelly call her a girl - but in a good way, like a tickling in her stomach that reminded her she was real" (132). This moment is imperative in teaching young readers the importance of accepting and affirming all identities. In learning to treat others with compassion and open-mindedness from a young age, we are working towards creating societies rooted in inclusion and community. I believe that the lessons in Melissa have the potential to reach, not only young students, but readers of all ages. If the parents, librarians, and teachers who ban books such as Melissa actually took the time to sit down and read it, they may learn a powerful lesson on the importance of positive representation in children's' literature.


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