Georgia Dean's repsonse..

In my initial years of childhood I was the little sister by 2 years and followed in her footsteps. If she liked Barbie’s, I liked Barbie’s. If she wore a cute, pink floral sundress, I had a matching one. We shared a bedroom for the first eight years of my life and did everything together. I would say that her interests undoubtedly subconsciously affected mine. It wasn’t until later when my younger brother arrived that I can truly remember knowingly noticing gender differences within my household. My sister started to become more of a tomboy and I grew closer to my brother as I enjoyed playing Thomas the Tank Engine and watching Postman Pat on television with him.

My one vivid memory of my parents role in shaping my gender occured one early morning when my brother and I sat in front of the television watching the popular-at-the-time television show Teletubbies. My Dad walked into the family room and told us to immediately change the channel and articulated to me he did not want my brother watching that show. I later found out that there had be controversy regarding the sex of the characters in the show and possible homosexual connotations being expressed. Being a closet homophobe, my Dad did not want my young brother to take on the roles of what could be described as gender neutral or ambiguous characters.

When school age came around, my parents placed my sister and I in an all girl private school, in my hometown at the time, Perth, Australia. In my first few years there I was immersed in single sex sports, toys to play with, and classrooms settings. I had only female teachers and friends. I learnt “how to be a girl” and learned to enjoy female company. In hindsight, looking back on those days I sometimes beg the question whether my gender might have been affected had I remained in Australia and at a single sex school. I moved to Vancouver, Canada at the age of 9 and have since been educated in a co-ed environment.

Steph's Gender Bio

As a baby, I was always adorned in the color pink, accented with lace and ribbons. As a toddler, I would play with Barbie dolls and coloring books. I danced ballet at the age of three, and hula at the age of five. I played the obedient wife in games of “house” and cooked my husband steak and mashed potatoes in my plastic kitchen.  I was the epitome of a “girly girl”. As I grew older, I shifted away from this girly façade and began playing tennis. I quit ballet and took up hip hop. Soon, I would rather wear a baggy shirt and basketball shorts than the Roxy blouse and denim shorts my mom would buy me. I would wear my hair in a ponytail and play tag with the boys. My other would let me dress myself, but I would always have to change before leaving the house because I would come downstairs dressed like my brother. I was a “tom boy” and my mom began to miss her dear, sweet daughter. Again, as I grew older, I shifted away from this phase and found my balance. I have days when I feel like dressing up; I wear make-up and fitted clothing. And there are other days when I feel like being one of the boys; I don my too baggy basketball shorts and hooded sweater. Though I think of myself as being raised completely feminine, I never wholly considered myself a girly girl or a tom boy. I live in my own happy medium.

Ashley Edman's Post

When I was younger, my idea of playtime was much different than many other girls. While most of the girls my age, including myself, begged their mothers to buy them the new Barbie doll in stores or a new make up kit, I requested some other type of toy as well. I loved playing with my dolls and brushing their hair and I loved experimenting with all the different colored eyeshadows. However, I was always one who would get the most excited when I saw a new shipment of 1:18 toy car models, which were sold as collectibles. I sought to collect them and would always use my free time tracing streets in my room’s carpet and pushing my fancy cars along the floor. When my friends would come over to play, they always went straight to my bucket of dolls and beanie baby toys, but never wanted to take part in my game of pushing the cars around my imaginary streets. My friends told me that cars were for boys; that only boys enjoyed that type of thing and wondered why I took so much interest in these cars. I gradually stopped playing with those cars and they are now hiding away in a box. Although now that I am older and the cars could and probably should be displayed as collectibles someone in the house, I see that as something I was never supposed to like. Social implications such as these can really shape someone’s view on things. For instance, I was thrilled with my toy cars until I realized that, as a girl, I wasn’t supposed to like things like that so I soon transitioned myself to playing with things socially considered to be “girly.”

Renee's Gender Bio

I grew up in a house dominated by women. Most days, I lived with my mom and older sister in an all-girls household, and most of the role models in my life were strong, independent women. Being a girly girl always seemed natural to me. I was inclined towards activities like gymnastics and dance, rather than team sports, and my parents supported my desires. I remember playing dress up games and pretending to cook meals in a toy kitchen, and I especially remember my grandmother dressing my sister and I up in hula girl outfits. My moms insistence that women should only stay home if they want to, and my observance of a house in which a female dominated, contrasted with the games and activities I played that placed women in a certain household role.
Nevertheless, I did pick up one questionable generalization about females. I learned from a young age that I had the ability to smile and sweet talk my way into what I wanted. I remember ordering ice cream in a restaurant during my early years of elementary school. When my ice cream arrived, it was partially melted. Jokingly, I pouted at the waiter and said disappointedly, “it’s melted.” To my shock, the waiter whisked it away and returned with a new, frozen bowl of ice cream. My comment was only intended as a playful joke, and I had no idea that the waiter would respond that way. In fact, my parents were actually upset with me, feeling like I had inconvenienced the waiter and complained when it wasn’t necessary. Looking back, I wonder now if I would have made that same comment had the server been a woman. However, regardless of my parents’ reaction, I know that this incident encouraged me to believe that most women carry the ability to manipulate others, whether they choose to act on this ability or not.

Laura's Gender Bio

Growing up, I absolutely loved playing with both trucks and dolls. Nothing was more exciting than traveling around my house to discover a new path for my trucks or thinking of new storylines to act out with my Barbie dolls. I loved exploring the depths of my imagination, blissfully unaware that my toys of choice were sending mixed gender messages. Yet as I grew older, I noticed that my birthday presents and other gifts from friends never included trucks or toys that I now recognize as stereotypically “masculine.” Instead of G.I. Joes, I got Barbie dolls. Instead of books from the Hardy Boys series, I received Nancy Drew. Though I still enjoyed playing with trucks, I began to make the distinction between “boy toys” and “girl toys.” My parents never emphasized gender stereotypes, allowing me to decide what I wanted to do. Thus, I chose both Girl Scouts and sports, never really sticking to the activities stereotyped for a certain gender. Regardless, I was fully aware of them.

Kyle's Gender Bio

Let me preface this short, little look into my life by first saying that I am gay.

I don't mean to elicit shock or controversy by stating this, I merely think it provides an interesting context or lens for one to view my short bio through... Also, we are discussing social issues in gender, so why not get down to the bare-bones and not beat around the bush so much... wouldn't want to stifle our educational evolution.

Anyways, onto the main event... Perhaps the most gender-influential element in my life, or my childhood, thus far would have to be video games. I play them. I live them. I love them. I can recall the first game I ever enjoyed, which was Tomb Raider, and its main character, Lara Croft, whom I, ironically enough, fell head-over-heels in love with . Here I am, this young (probably around 9 or 10) boy, already slightly aware of his growing interest in good-looking men... and along came this Goddess; this virtual vixen that embodies the very essence of feminine ferocity, simultaneously empowering women and objectifying them. I saw Lara not as a person to model myself after (thank goodness no...) but as an example of how women could be equal to and even better than men... way better. She was probably the catalyst for my obsession with female video game characters, in fact. From then on, every game I played, specifically fighting games, I always picked the girls... from the sultry femme fatale to the happy-go-lucky adolescent... whatever the stereotype of female, I played them all and thoroughly enjoyed it. In retrospect, I realize now that I picked them because I had something to prove. I wanted to show all those stereotypical chauvinistic/geeky gamer guys that... yes, they can get their ass handed to them by an ignorant little girl one third the size of their hyper-masculine hero who has muscles on top of his muscles. It was satisfying really... incredibly so. It made me feel that it was ok to be feminine, and by extension, ok to be gay. It legitimized my sexual orientation within a culture largely dominated by guys who use the word "gay" to mean stupid, and never really consider the actual definition or the implications of its use. Of course, one of my best friends is a gamer himself and I've known him since 5th grade (the rest of my friends are a plethora of girls... obviously), but he was well aware of my sexuality probably before I was, and remains incredibly supportive and understanding. My parents, actually never shaped my role of gender throughout my childhood... they never really taught me how to be a certain way, they just let me be myself - also probably because they knew about my orientation even when I was young. Really, video games were the main factor that shaped my views of gender... all those over-sexed yet strangely dignified American female characters... and all the dangerously brooding yet ambiguously feminine Japanese male characters. All of them have undoubtedly shaped my view of gender into something a bit more unconventionally singular rather than your standard male and female... light and dark.

Amit's Gender Biography

Music has always been a grave part in shaping my personality and gender. It was the start of middle school when I first picked up the bass guitar for the sole reason that my 17 year old neighbor looked cool playing it. I remember going to his band's shows and being absolutely star-struck in an audience of about 15 people. For me, this is what defined being a boy: playing the guitar, making songs to swoon girls, and having a reckless youth. Yet what is most significant in my story with music, was where it took me next: a place and change many could refer to as 'feminine'.
As high school began, I realized how ridiculous and artificial my passion for music was. I wanted a change; I began researching and listening to music that I actually enjoyed, rather than listening to bands other cool-looking skateboarding males did. I found myself conversing with teachers and other female friends about music and art preference rather than attending concerts and doing the same with my other male friends.
What I take from this experience is how my parents never strongly emphasized a gender norm. Sure there were the baseball and basketball teams to keep me active, but it was the choices I made independently--like music--that shaped who I am today. Another important lesson from my story is how a gender norm may not always be for you just because you are male or female. I can safely say that pursuing the path my middle-school-idol and many other males took would shape me into a person I would not be happy with today.