This paper analyzes a variant of the “sitting in a tree” kissing rhyme using two female names (Nicole, Nita) collected from a 2021 ethnographic study in a US elementary school. We argue that same-gender pairings in this rhyme function not as LGBTQ+ expression but as a safe, deniable framework for exploring intimacy before heterosexual normativity rigidifies. Drawing on Thorne’s Gender Play (1993) and more recent work on children’s folklore, we show how the rhyme both mirrors and subverts adult romantic scripts.
Nicole and Nita—two friends who share more than a name that rhymes—sit beneath an old maple in a small town where afternoons fold into quiet golden hours. Their story is at once ordinary and quietly revealing: a map of friendship, identity, and the gentle work of staying present. Nicole.and.Nita.Sittin.in.aTree
"High leaves and higher vibes. Just Nicole and Nita doing what we do best—branching out. 🍃👯♀️" This paper analyzes a variant of the “sitting
But for now, just two girls in an oak tree, watching the world spin on without them. Nicole and Nita—two friends who share more than