I definitely grew up a girly girl, but I never felt pressured to be one. My mother bought toys when I was little that were “gender neutral” but I chose to play with the more feminine ones. I played with Barbies long after my sister did at the same age. I never noticed that the boys didn’t play with the barbies. The first time that I noticed the difference was when it cam time to dress up for halloween when I was around four or five. Every year I was a princess. I was Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle each once, but I was Princess Jasmine for multiple years. When I was four I noticed that my sister was a cute kitty cat, and all my girlfriends were cute animals or princesses, but all the boys were scary things or professions such as doctor or fireman. I even saw a few policemen. From then on it was very clear to me that some costumes were okay for me to be and other costumes would draw attention if I was to dress up in them. My mother never tried to force me to be more feminine, but I just ended up choosing to define myself as more feminine than masculine.
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Coincidentally, we have a similar experience! My mother never pressured me to be a feminine girl or a tomboy, for that matter. Although she would sometimes buy me frilly dresses and headbands, I always got to choose what clothes to wear. But as I grew up experimenting with the extremes of both side, I finally discovered that as a girl, I am more comfortable with behaving like a proper feminine lady. In my case, a combination of influence by society and my own preferences shaped the person I came to be today.
ReplyDeleteI have also had similar experiences as a child that have shaped my femininity as a young adult today. This kind of attraction to our feminine side can arguably be associated with "doing" or performing gender. I felt almost a natural inclination to act and behave in a feminine manner as a child and into my early adulthood, possibly because it was and is an acceptable norm of society. Although you and I might not have felt pressured into this kind of association with femininity, it appears that many people are molded into a society that assumes traditional roles, actions, and behavior that relate to a definite gender. I have always been inclined to express my femininity without the constraint of my family and friends, however, I do believe that the social environment I grew up in reinforced such behavior. My family and friends, in addition to my education, were all external factors that had an indirect impact on the way in which I identify with my gender.
ReplyDeleteChristina's gender biography is a prime example of gender essentialism because even though she was exposed to "gender neutral" toys and wasn't encouraged to be feminine by her parents, she was in fact a "girly girl". Thus, according to Christina's gender biography, it can be said that the differences between men and women are natural and are grounded in our biology.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in addition to displaying how gender essentialism works, Christina's gender biography also displays how social constructionalsim plays a role in our lives; seeing how the boys had certain Halloween costumes and how the girls had certain-more feminine-costumes socially constructed Christina's view on what is consider to be feminine and what is considered masculine.
Thus, both gender essentialism and social constructionalism has influenced how Christina "does gender".
This is very similar to me! I always grew up with my mother letting me choose what interested me, without her worrying about was stereotypically female. My mom introduced me to many different sports and activities such as ballet, soccer, tennis, and gymnastics. In the end, I chose soccer and tennis, two sports that definitely were viewed as more masculine then gymnastics and ballet. In school, my teachers also persuaded us during recess to play and participate in any activites we desired, no matter what gender "category" it was in. I enjoyed playing handball and kickball, along with many other girls and boys. I was influenced by my school and my family to pursue whatever I was passionate about, and although I ended up choosing hobbies that could be considered more masculine, I am still the feminine girl that I am today.
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