Ricardo Navarro
Gender seems as if it is being "done" in all aspects of my life. It seems as if categorizing and pushing social cues happen at a very young age within my family. When someone is expecting a baby in our family, we begin treating them on the basis of their primary sex characteristics even before they are born. If they have male parts, we buy them toys and blue clothes. If they are girls we buy them pink clothes. As they grow up we begin to shape them according to their sex. If they are boy, we play sports with them. If they are girls we give them dolls and tell them to play house with the other girls. If either of them cross (like the boys playing with dolls) the older adults in my family generally get upset or mad. As children grow older and their secondary sec characteristics begin to show, the older adults also begin to judge. One of my cousins was a "late bloomer" and I actually heard his mom say "I wonder if he is going to stay like a girl forever." She said this just because he did not reach puberty in the same time his brothers did. While these judgement's seem very rude, it is perfectly acceptable to my older family who are "traditional" and 65 years and older. It seems that "doing gender" begins at a very young age in my family, but that is changing extensively. I now have two little cousins from different sides of my family, they are both female and enrolled in baseball. Neither of their parents base their actions or judgement's on the children's primary sex characteristics.
It was very interesting to learn that even though in your family "doing gender" is common and expected, it is starting to change. Most traditional families wouldnt be open to change, however your family is, which is good!
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be interesting, because I can relate. I have a young cousin who lives with his single mother and lacks a male influence at the home. Therefore my younger cousin is always playing with females (Aunts, cousins, grandmother) and lacks yet again any type of male influence. My aunt has shown to worry about her son and his sexuality, because he does not like to play with toys designed for boys are has not proven to take interest in games and activities meant for boys. I feel that the way he was socialized has caused his mother to feel this way. In opinion it is not a bad thing, but to society and even his own mother, it can seen completely abnormal.
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