| Subject: Re: Assignment 5 |
Author:
Sean Collins
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 10:12:51 07/09/10 Fri
In reply to:
Dr. magun-Jackson
's message, "Assignment 5" on 11:39:05 07/05/10 Mon
I think that my parents had a significant impact on my gender role development. My parents were actually pretty socially liberal and progressive, but we did have very distinct gender roles. It seemed like their rhetoric differed from their actions sometimes. It was normally small things that they did not recognize. For household chores, I was expected to do yard work. My dad would always ask myself or my brother to help him with outdoor activities. I never saw my mom helping with outdoor work. It was not her job, my dad took care of all of that. Likewise, my father never asked my sister to help him with these activities. To a certain extent, I can understand why my dad would ask the males to help because there were some jobs that required more strength. With that said, my sister was older than my brother and she was stronger than him for many years, yet she was not expected to do this work. For example, my brother and I took care of the lawn-mowing and I don't think my sister did this once.
It may seem like I'm complaining about the amount of chores, but my sister did have her share of chores. The difference is that she did inside chores. Folding the clothes, laundry, helping with dinner, putting away the dishes etc. I had to do some of these chores as well but my sister definitely did more than my brother and myself. My mother also took care of inside chores for the most part. She did a lot of the cleaning and all of the cooking. Cooking was her main responsibility, but that was a daily job so it was a lot of work. My father was a decent cook but it was simply expected that my mother would cook. I think that is the way that she grew up, her family's gender roles were more stereotypical than our family. My grandmother was the domestic worker, she would cook and then clean all of the dishes. At thanksgivings, the kitchen would be filled with women and the women would normally clean up after dinner. I never saw my grandfather take part in these activities, despite occasionally grilling. Similarly, my father and I also do the grilling at our house. I guess that this type of cooking is more of a masculine activity.
There were also differences in the ways that our parents treated us. My brother and I were expected to be tough while my sister did not face the same pressure. For example, I was allowed to walk home from school in the 3rd grade while my sister was not allowed till 8th grade or so. My mom was terrified that my sister might get hurt, while they just assumed that I would be fine. This was a theme throughout our childhood, I think that my sister was overprotected at times.
We also internalized the way that our parents behaved. My father behaved in a strong, silent, masculine manner while my mother had more stereotypical feminine behavior. These subtle actions have a huge impact because we would look to them for guidance and attempt to emulate their actions. I think subtle messages are the most important, and my parents had a huge effect on our gender roles without necessarily noticing it. My parents were trying to create an egalitarian environment, and had positive values but we had never distinct gender roles nonetheless. With this in mind, I think that it is important to recognize one's own biases and views on the subject. You may not directly say something to a child, but they will be able to perceive your values through tone and subtleties.
>Assignment 5 (Sex roles): July 9
>Social learning theory suggests that parental modeling
>of gender roles may play a critical part in gender
>role identity development. Reflect on what kinds of
>messages or models your own parents demonstrated about
>gender. Post your thoughts and a list of common
>household tasks delineated by gender.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 