Manny's Biography

I grew up in a mixed-tradition family. My father being from Mexico and my mother from Peru. From my father I learned how to be tough and how to show no emotion, because he showed no emotion. He was not always reserved though. He became more so as me and my sister grew up and began to become teenagers. I guess he didn't know how to treat us as we grew from children to adults so he began to keep to himself. My mother on the other hand is the most loving person I've ever known. She was always there for me and always took the extra time to help me and my sister. The difference in culture came through the fact that in Mexico men are meant to be tough while in Peru people are more welcoming and polite. I believe i got most of my characteristics from my mother because although i can act tough at times, more often than not I like to talk to people and be friendly. I believe my gender role was in a large part brought about by my friends in school. We would always play football, soccer, and basketball during recess and lunch, and we would most always hurt each other because it was fun for us. We liked being tough and taking blows and the one who took any breaks was seen as a coward; so naturally I never gave way to pain. With my friends we always bothered girls and cracked sex jokes about how women were bad drivers and that men were in every way superior. So through this in a way I gained a sexist view of women, but only in a joking manner. Personally I do believe women are equal to men and better in some ways also. This may be partly due to my mother's love for me and my sister. My sister and I were never really close and fought constantly, that is until right now in college. Even though we fought I always admired her because she worked hard and was fun at times to hang out with. From her I learned how emotional women can be and that any little thing can set them off. We would play video games together and at times we would play sports. All these experiences and events define who I am today and what my gender role is in the world.