Compare and contrast how the author portrays the male and female characters in the outsiders

The Outsiders is a coming of age novel. It was written by SE Hinton. This book is marketed as a "boy book". The author portrays the male and female characters in very different ways. All the major characters are boys and they are "normal" teenage boys. The girls in the story are mainly quiet or are grouped together. There are two groups of girls, the upper-class and the lower-class girls. These girls are stereotyped according to their classes. The upper-class girls are worshiped by the boys and the lower-class girls are looked down upon by the boys.