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Olive Senior
Olive Senior is a Jamaican journalist and short story poet. She is one of the Caribbean's leading literature feminist writer. Senior's works are influenced by Jamaican traditions, highlighted through the author's use of Standard English and Jamaican Creole/Patois. As a feminist, Senior's literature highlights gender theories and the underlying issues that plague the Caribbean society. She voiced her thoughts on the cultural and political ties that holds Jamaica together with the past of the British colonizers. She attended Montego Bay High School for girls and later Carlton University in Ottawa where she studied Print Journalism. Senior won several accolades for her writing such as the Institute of Jamaica Centenary Medal for Creative Writing in 1979, the Commonwealth prize for literature in 1987, the Silver Musgrave in 1988 and the Norman Washington Manley Award for Excellence in 2003.

Summary of Story
The story involves a main character by the name of Laura who was being raised by her single mother Myrtle after being abandoned by her father Bertram. They were living in rural Jamaica where they experiences normal everyday struggles. Myrtle treated Laura differently from the other children as if she was superior and so she gave her different chores from the other children in the household. Myrtle had Laura with a wealthy white man at the age of 17 who deserted her after he found out she was pregnant. Laura’s mother did everything from buying her expensive clothes, accessories and rubbing cocoa butter on her skin in an attempt to maintain Laura’s light skin for her to be accepted by her father and his parents.

Language, Femininity, Masculinity and Contemporary Beliefs
Gender is no longer viewed as something that is static but something that is being performed. This is why there is something called “gendered language” and why persons can demonstrate masculinity and femininity through language. Gendered language is defined as language that has a bias to a particular sex or social gender. Femininity and masculinity describes gender identities and so they influence the language used in our everyday lives. Femininity and masculinity is shaped by socio-cultural processes. Culture is taught to people through the process of socialization by social institutions such as the family, school, church ect. In the Caribbean, behaviors and practices are associated with either femininity or masculinity and some of these traits were identified in the story 'Bright Thursdays'. For example, Laura was taught by her mother Myrtle to perform only household chores and her brothers did chores that required for them to leave the home (fetching water, minding goats). ). During childhood girls and boys are socialized to behave like their older counterparts- men and women. They do this by demonstrating gender-appropriate behavior this includes gender appropriate linguistic use

Race
Miss Christie also shared this view as she was happy Laura wasn’t as dark in person as the photo she had gotten. Wolf (1991), argues that some women are being discriminated by myths that they must have a certain look for people to love them. They must have small nose, silky hair, smooth skin etc. and these are some of the features that was also mentioned in the story. So, it can be said that the language of culture or race differences speaks truth to who holds power. These views are rooted in colorism. Colorism can be defined as differential treatment based one's skin color, this favoritism is often towards those of a lighter shin color. Colorism also speaks to the mistreatment of those with darker skin tone. As a result of Jamaica's history colorism is very evident in Jamaican society and Senior talks about it in her book. This is why Myrtle was happy when Laura hair was straight and Miss Christie was happy that Laura's skin color was lighter in person than in the picture.