The most gendering moment of my youth took place in Pop Warner football when I was in 5^th grade. I had played soccer my entire life and had even made in onto the B team when I hit the competitive level. At that time I was larger than most of my peers so I tended to use my size to my advantage. After one game in which I received a red card for a particularly viscous slide tackle, a youth football coach came up to me. He told me that “I was too much of a man to play a sissy sport like soccer” and requested I come out for his football team. These words were exceptionally biting and I quickly agreed to play. When I finally did play football I found these sexist remarks to be more and more common. It was commonplace for the coaches to threaten us with remarks like “a bunch of girls could do better than that.” Unfortunately this intimidation was incredible effective as the coaches were good men and role models. After 7 years of football I truly feel the effects of this manipulation. It instilled in me the morals typical of a 1950’s generation man. I forever saw soccer as a sissy sport and anything “girly” was to be avoided. I still am weighing and attempting to understand the effects of the gendering I received by my football coaches.

Sharon's Bio

I was grew up in a very traditional family. I lived with my both parents and 2 older sisters until 2 years ago. As I am the youngest in my famly, my family members use all their love to care about me. I grew up in a "girlish" style, like I love play barbies as my sisters influenced me. I have many Barbie dolls and i forget the exact number of barbie that i own. I love to dressed in pink and putting all the decreation that i love to decreate my room. Thus, my room always decreate as pink and orange. I was not an independent people during the time that i live with my family. they take care of my daily lives, I was always to rely to them. however, everything has changed from two years ago.
I moved to L.A on my own. It is because my parents want me to learn independent and finish my further studies. I started my new life in L.A. I need to learn tough, like how to solve the homesick problem, I cannot cry every time that i faced to a big troble. I need to learn not to scare when i was facing an insect. These are because there are no more people could protect me anymore. I cannot act as that girlish and soft. Sometimes I need to learn how to be brave and learn what people labled men stuffs like changing a light bulb.