Discussion Questions
You'll Grow Out of It
by Jessi Klein
- What does Jessi Klein celebrate about modern American culture, and what does she criticize? Do you agree with her ideas about what it means to be a women in the world today?
- Jessi describes herself as a tomboy who grew into a “tom man.” How did her early disconnect from conventional femininity shape her identity? What aspects of Jessi’s performance of femininity do you connect with?
- Klein writes of the pressure to have a natural birth, “When writing the experience of pregnancy and birth … No one ever asks if a man is having a ‘natural vasectomy.’” In what ways do the choices we make as women become public concerns?
- One of the book’s funniest moments comes as Klein lays out her “poodle-wolf” theory: women are poodles if they "inherently radiate femininity" (Angelina Jolie) and wolves if the effort shows (Jennifer Aniston). Are you a poodle or a wolf? Do you find this divide problematic?
- What other books have you read that, like You’ll Grow Out Of It, give voice to women’s experiences and concerns without dismissing them as trivial?
How to cite this page
Jewish Women's Archive. "Discussion Questions ." (Viewed on April 1, 2023) <https://jwa.org/programs/bookclub/discussionquestions/youll-grow-out-of-it>.