Maybe He Just Likes You

When Maybe He Just Likes You was first published in 2019, the #MeToo movement had been present in the news and social media for only a few years. As the viral hashtag spread across social media, difficult conversations arose tackling sexual harassment, consent, and boundaries. In Maybe He Just Likes You, Dee shines a light on the reality of sexual harassment among children and how harassment can start at any age. Dee also highlights the insidious nature of gaslighting and how perpetrators use psychological manipulation to intensify feelings of shame and confusion in survivors.

The basketball boys describe what they are doing to Mila as “a joke,” “a game,” and just “goofing around.” By using dismissive language like this, the boys think they can downplay the severity of their teasing. Mila becomes furious, especially because the behavior doesn’t feel like a joke to her. The boys tell Mila to lighten up and “have a sense of humor” (74) while they continue to violate her personal space and ignore her boundaries. There is a level of intimidation behind the touching that the boys do: Dante spreads his legs and refuses to stand on the bus so Mila can’t leave without pressing her body against his, and Callum intentionally sits too close to Mila to assert his dominance in the trumpet section.