The 57 Bus

The 57 Bus

by

Dashka Slater

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The 57 Bus makes teaching easy.

The 57 Bus: Part 3: Does It Have to Be Me? Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
After 23 days, Sasha is released from the hospital. They give an interview on the news while wearing a skirt, and Sasha is excited that an agender person is on television, but they are sorry it must be them. Plus, Sasha says, most “of the coverage is ‘A boy was wearing a skirt.’ Rather than, ‘An agender person was wearing a skirt,’” and Sasha feels “misrepresented.”
Sasha feels “misrepresented” by the news coverage because they consistently refer to them as the wrong gender. This too reflects the marginalization of agender individuals within American society—even when directly interviewing Sasha, they still call them a boy.
Themes
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Discrimination and Social Justice Theme Icon