Although the book does not state the title character's sexuality, lesbians have identified with Harriet due to her being an "outsider" and due to her dressing like a boy. For example, Harriet wore high-top sneakers, a rarity for girls in the 1960s. Furthermore, Fitzhugh was known to be a lesbian, and the "Boy with the Purple Socks" character in the book may have been gay as the color purple is associated with the gay community. However, this was not confirmed as the boy later states his true name is Peter and he got lost in a crowd one day, and that his mother forced him to wear purple socks from that day forward as an immediate identifier to prevent future cases of getting lost. Harriet's friend Sport is not like 1960s gender norms, as he cooks and cleans in addition to taking care of other household tasks due to his absentee mother and stay-at-home father who is consumed with trying to get his novel published. At one point Harriet suggests to herself getting even with Sport by saying she should call him a "sissy" and spread rumors that he reads cook books. Sport, for his part, is not a total deviant from boyhood norms, saying that plenty of guys cook for a living, such as truck stop employees, and like many other boys, would love to have a career in professional sports. Sport is also a realist, saying that pro ball is probably not a part of his future, and believes he can parlay his early detail of family bookkeeping into an accounting career as an adult.