Response to Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Jennifer Sherman
Multicultural Literature
Response to Luna by Julie Anne Peters
As I was reading Luna, I found myself looking forward to the scenes that were between Regan and Chris. While I was interested in Regan’s relationship with Liam and Luna and the family dynamics between them all, I have to admit that I kept turning the pages and lowering my eyes further down the pages in order to see when Chris was going to appear. However, as I connected to these sentimental scenes, I could not help but feel as though I shouldn’t. The book had a way of making me feel ashamed for looking forward to these scenes. At the same time that my heart melted when Chris was waiting for Regan at her locker, I also felt ridiculous for conforming to the stereotypical gender constructions that have been placed upon me. I felt like I was being the typical girl, getting excited over a cute teenage romance.

I felt as though I was being reduced to my prescribed femininity. According to societal norms, a girl likes reading about relationships. A girl likes to live in the clouds and dream about her Prince Charming. Of course she doesn’t have the sense to think about social issues and expectations and how she is shaped and formed by the ideals that are placed on her. I felt shallow for not being more interested in the unbearable struggles of Liam. I felt shallow for being more concerned about a high school crush than I was about the fact that my identity and sense of self may not be my own, as they are manipulated by the norms and expectations of society.

I think this reflection clearly shows that the book did open my eyes to my own thinking and ways of processing. It’s discussion of gender roles and how we adapt ourselves to the constructions that are made for us, made me much more aware, or perhaps less aware, of if my actions are independently my own or whether they are in a response to what I have been taught to do. The line between who I am and what I think I should be suddenly became very cloudy. I found myself questioning whether or not the fact that I wanted to find those relationship scenes between Regan and Chris was because that was something that I enjoyed or if it has been so ingrained in me that that is something that I should want to do and thus I think that I should do it. It is frightening to realize that you may not even have the ability to know what thoughts are truly your own and what thoughts have been manipulated and created by outside forces and expectations.

I thought that the book did a great job of outlining gender expectations from all different angles. The most transparent viewpoint was that of Liam and Luna. Here, Luna is trapped in a male body but yet she does not feel as though she should be. She does not want to conform to the gender stereotypes that are set out for being a boy. She wants to do what we have deemed girl activities and thus she must be a girl. What makes this interesting is the fact that Luna has to enter a girl’s body in order to engage in the behavior that she wishes to engage in. It is deemed unacceptable for Liam, a boy, to dance and paint his toenails. His father cannot accept the fact that he does not want to play baseball. The Materas are absolutely appalled that they find him singing and wearing nightgowns. They immediately assume that he must be insane and they ban Regan from babysitting there even though she has been there for years.

This brings into question if boys and girls really do have fundamental differences between them or if many of us are just too afraid or simply unable to fight against the expectations that are placed on us. It is assumed that because Liam is a boy that he should want to do boy things. Anything else is simply insane. Because he is a boy, he must “play to their [society’s] expectations. Dress the part. Act the role” (51). Being a boy is simply a role. Our gender comes with demands and expectations. Maybe I don’t want to paint my toenails or read about romantic scenes. However, society has told me since I was born that that is something that I should do, so maybe that is why I do it. Or then again, perhaps I just happen to enjoy something that is stereotypically female. Maybe there is a reason that most females enjoy doing certain things that is inherently biological. The lines of gender and identity are clearly more blurred than many people realize.

Aside from Liam’s struggles, however, the book also presented many different viewpoints and angles about gender and expectations in a more broader sense. A great example of this was Regan’s mother. For most of their marriage, Regan’s mother was a stay at home mother. Her job was to make bologna rollups. As she said, “I’m always in here at the same time every day making lunches. That’s all I ever do. Cook for you, clean for you, take care of the kids” (135). Eventually, when their father loses his job, she gets a job of her own and she throws herself into her work. Her job becomes her number one priority as she is constantly on the phone at breakfast and she pays little attention to her family anymore. At the end of the book, Regan has to beg her mom to even get off of the phone when Liam turns himself into Luna in front of their father.

This new identity of the mother disturbs the father and the children. Regan wants her mother to make her bologna sandwiches. She longs to have a family like the Materas. She questions her mother’s love for her. The question remains whether or not her mother should want to stay home and be with the kids. She is portrayed as almost being inadequate, as she is taking estrogen and other pills and throwing herself into her work. It is almost as if she is incapable of being a mother, and thus she is incapable of coping as a woman. The expectations put on her have become too much, so she shuns them completely. She is unable to grapple with the fact that she cannot fulfill her gender expectations. In a way, she is struggling though the same problems as her son. However, she is unable to acknowledge them like his is.

The story of Regan is also a very interesting one. I think that it is especially insightful because we are able to hear the narration of the story from her point of view. Rather than hearing it from Luna’s point of view, we are able to see this transformation from an outside perspective. It almost allows the reader to have somebody to relate to. It makes the story more applicable and understandable. In a way, we are almost placed in the same position as Regan. We are an observer.

Regan, however, has more expectations placed on here than we do as readers. First off, she has the responsibility of being the one person her brother can confide in. I found it very interesting that the novel ended by Regan saying, “Hello, Regan.” For the first time, as Luna leaves, Regan is finally able to live her own life. Before that, her entire life was dictated by guilt and responsibility. She felt obligated to be there for her brother and she could not let herself escape it.

Regan also opens the door to acknowledging the gender demands that are placed on us and fighting back. I like the fact that she pronounces that unlike her mother she is failing home economics and she cannot make that pound cake. I like how she and Chris make fun of the roles that they should fulfill. They make fun of their Chemistry teacher who pronounces that the safety goggles must be worn at all times as, “It’s a state law girls. Chemistry is not a beauty contest” (29). At the same time that Regan sees her brother’s transformation, watches her mom struggle to find a balance in her life, and long for a family like the Materas, she seems to be weaving her way through her own life and gender expectations as well.
Regan is a character who understands the demands that are placed on her. She seems to see how the world is manipulated by stereotypes, yet she also seems to struggle to get past them. She wants to play with that Barbie Doll as a little girl and be the mommy just as much as Liam does. She also seems to conform well into the dependent, beings suited by a suitor role with Chris as well. The question is really of awareness and understanding what desires are ours and what we want to be versus what we are expected to be. Luna gives its readers an insight into their own minds and it allows them to open their eyes to the society and environment around them.