Reflective Reflection About Gender

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Christmas morning, 1998 I cried all morning because Santa accidently brought me the boy Telletubie. At that young age I knew that having the “boy” doll was unacceptable. Now that I’m older I reflect on times like that and wonder where these “Gender” norms aroused. Using the “Genderbread” as a template, I identify as a cisgender woman because how I express my gender, my gender identity, my birth sex, and my romantic or sexual interests align within the “norms” of a straight woman. Although I can easily pinpoint where my gender falls, it is important to reflect on how my gender expression developed. Through examining gender influences; early gender socialization, family influence, female stereotypes, social relationships and my college experience, …show more content…

Whenever a woman is portrayed on television as having her period she is crazy, sensitive, and portrayed a monster. Consequently, my friends would use my period as a way to explain any mood I had that wasn’t pleasant. I was expected to be sensitive and moody because of it, and they never realized that women could be upset just because upsetting things had happened to them. I developed an anxiety with disclosing that I was even on my period, because I feared that people would treat me differently because of it. Another stereotype was that I needed to be flirty and desirable or modest and pure, but not both. I won biggest flirt in High school and never dated anyone or even had my first kiss till my senior year. I was in Drama club and the boys would constantly call me a slut, home wrecker, or whore. They were joking, but I still found an issue with it. I wondered why being interested in men or nice to men made me those things because I hadn’t even kissed a boy yet. It all goes back to the dichotomy of being either or, when in reality it is unrealistic to fit any woman into one mold. I knew that I was so beyond those adjectives and was able to laugh about it, but now that I’m older I question why those stereotypes were imposed on me at …show more content…

I “fit” into the norm of what it is to be biologically and psychologically a woman. I’m beginning to question why describing gender is so cut and dry and if gender and personality should even be grouped together when describing a person. If my parents didn’t socialize me as a girl, would my personality or preferences be the same? Factors such as family, biology, stereotypes, school, and media play an important role in making me who I am today. I am still learning everyday about what it means to be a woman and its imperative role in the construction of my

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