The social structure of gender
in my mind is a set of rules. When you are born either a male or female, you are
instantly given a set of standards and guidelines on how you are supposed to behave.
These standards are the social norm and people who go against the rules are often
looked down upon by others in society and considered weird or ridiculed. This structure gives our lives
a certain amount of predictability because what we are expected to do has
already been laid out for us, all we have to do is follow the rules.
The way that gender has affected
my life personally is something that I haven’t ever thought about. I have grown
up in a so called “Man’s” house. There are 4 men in the house, myself, my two
brothers and my dad. The only woman in the house is my mother, even our dog is
male. The way that this has affected us is by really knowing what the gender
role of a man is. Media shows us what society thinks a real man is. A man plays
sport (as I have my entire life), a man eats a lot and a man never cleans up
after himself or helps around the house. But what my parents have taught me is
much different. My mom does yard work and fixes things around the house when
they are broken, my dad will cook and clean when needed. I have been taught
that it is okay to help around that house and helping make meals for the family
can be enjoyable and is a useful life skill. I’ve been taught that you have to
work hard in life in order to earn respect and success and you need to provide
for your future family. The most important thing that my family taught me was
that you don’t have to follow the frame work of society you can be who you truly
are because your family will support you no matter what.
The social structure of
gender has had impacted me more than I had thought. I grew up playing sports
like “men” are supposed to. I worked hard in school got in trouble around the neighborhood
with friends. I do lots of manual labor for my parents at our house and helping
other at their houses. I am also pursuing a major in a science field (biology).
I have done all of this without noticing the impact of social structure.
"...compose a thoughtful entry that addresses your understanding of gender as a social structure and how it has impacted your life and/or how you expect that it will do so. You can approach this from any particular avenue you wish. Just remember that the point of the exercise is to evaluate your understanding regarding gender as social structure."
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start, but you focus too much on the micro and not enough on developing a discussion of gender as a social structure.
I would talk more about how your parents helped instil those values of being helpful around the house or with cooking and how that influenced your ideas about gender roles. I have always enjoyed reading your posts.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting post from your perspective. I grew up much differently. Maybe you should address how it would have been if you had a sister. It would also help if you added more about gender roles in society as a whole. The gender roles you grew up with are interesting and not very stereotypical.
ReplyDelete