Gender in Slammerkin

We learn that “a boy was the family’s most precious thing.” In what ways does gender play a role in Mary’s fate?

I felt that the boy being the most precious thing is a key factor into the direction that Mary took her life in. The thing that I feel started everything was the jealousy she had over her brother gaining all the attention of her mother because he is the child that every parent around this time desired, no one wanted girls. Since she was deprived of this attention she was lonely and neglected. This is why she went out alone and finds the ribbon that she desires, but the cost is her virginity. This ultimately leads her to becoming a prostitute due to her becoming pregnant and her mom and step dad kicking her out of the house leaving her to fend for herself. Once she is approached by Doll and agrees to begin prostituting her life goes downhill from there. So if her mom would have just treated her and her brother equal her life could have ended up with a much happier ending.