My Gender Identity

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I define my gender identity as a female because I was born a female, look like a female, and act like a female. While a female usually has a curvy body, long hair, a soft face, a male is tall, muscular, and with short hair. A female shows off traits of being affectionate, nurturing, beautiful, delicate, and dependent, while male traits display strength and independence. Those who define themselves with a female identity must portray those traits and characteristics listed, just like male identities must show the inverse of whats listed above. My gender map was always consistent on the feminine side. As I look back at it now I notice that my gender map is even marked by a bolded pink font, which I believe was a subconscious connection to my …show more content…

For being a 5’9 female, I am on the very tall trait spectrum, and this trait was confused once during my cheerleading competition when I was picked as a back-spot during a stunt. A back-spot in a stunt is the person who stands in the back while someone is in the air to lift and catch them, a usual position for tall males. During the competition when I got under to lift and catch the top stunt girl, I felt the roomful of confused and judgmental eyes on me, probably thinking that this girl is way too tall, strong, and masculine to be on the universally known feminine sport of cheerleading. I’ve never necessarily wanted to act, match, or change for a different identity, but I did want and still at times find myself wanting to change my tall height, more masculine signifying trait, for a shorter, more feminine height. Being a tall woman in particular sports such as basketball or track is a very valuable trait, but these are the sports that are based on a more masculine level, the sports that I never found any interest or skill in. The cheerleading sport is definitely a female sport, hence, in this sport you are most likely to see shorter female athletes at the top of a stunt. My height never put me on top of the stunt, instead it put me in the back to fill in for a male cheerleader, therefore, I always wished for a

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