gender bender

Two kids I teach at the English School... both girls. But one refers to herself as boku, the Japanese male self-reflexive, and is unindubitably masculine in both looks and personality. They're not really friends but were forced into taking lessons together by their parents, who are. The "boy child" is boisterous, loud and interactive'; the "girl child" is quiet and reserved. So not only do they not interact well in lessons, I feel like I'm teaching gender stereotypes. The other day, the boy-type smelled so strongly of mothballs, I couldn't stand next to her. HMM.