Gender Roles

In my English class we are discussing gender related issues. Our assignment was to pick a blog that discussed a gender issue, from what influences gender to gender identity disorder and write an mini essay on our view. The blog I chose discussed the influence of gender specific childhood toys. I hope you enjoy my discussion and take the polls that I have provided on your favorite toys you played with when you were a toddler.

A Toy Story

The toys children are given when they are young do not ultimately decide who a person becomes; it is through self-discovery that people learn their likes and dislikes. Many kids decide on their own what is their favorite pastime or toy, whether the person is a boy and is given a shiny red fire truck, or a girl who is handed a Barbie doll. In the blog, Outside the (toy) box, MOM decided that the toys that infants and toddlers are given when they are under the age of five will have an everlasting effect on how they view the world and who are they meant to be (MOM, par 11). MOM believes that when her daughter is given a dollhouse she feels the need to give her daughter a tool bench, a doctor’s kit and a basketball hoop (MOM, par 9). She feels little girls are stereotyped when they receive plastic kitchens, princess crowns and dolls. The same might be said when little boys only play with Tonka trucks, K’nex, or train sets. These gifts are passed down from generation to generation and continue to do so (MOM, par 15). Parents such as MOM become offended by toys associated with a certain gender, when most young kids would be happy banging on pots and pans. Apparently by placing these "restrictions" on these children they cannot escape the stereotypes that are placed on them, and will have very difficult adolescent years discovering who they are, or who they are supposed to be.

I am a believer in giving girls Barbie dolls and giving boys fire trucks; it makes sense – that’s how I was raised. Truthfully, I do not even remember if my parents tried to give me a truck or different types of toys, my memory is not too clear when I try and remember back to my toddler years. Honestly, it would feel strange to me if one day I had a son and gave him an Easy Bake Oven or if I had a daughter and gave her Hot Wheels. Unlike MOM, I believe “stereotyping” children has little effect on them when they are older. People have free will and they naturally discover their likes and dislikes. It is not a crime for people to give gender based toys at a young age, “for [my son’s] first birthday…he didn’t have a wish list… or registry…this isn’t what he wanted, this is what others wanted for him, ” (MOM, par 5). There needs to be a start for a gender and if someone wants to “change the rules” they will do that, as they grow older and mature.
Today, many people in the world to do not follow the gender traditional roles, and most likely they were given the stereotypical toys as children; those people that want to change their gender specific identity still figured out who they wanted to become. As stated by MOM, “Gender takes work. The work starts early and requires constant care. It starts at baby showers. It continues to hormone replacement therapy,” (MOM, par 21). If people discover w

hom they are later on in life, whether they know they want to be the stereotypical man or woman, a homosexual, bisexual, or transgender they got to that place on their own and only their inner thoughts told them it was the right path for them – no toy made that impact. People have free will and make decisions and change constantly as they age. Why do people like MOM become so vexed that she says it is, “ rip-my-hair-out frustrating…is there a fire truck gene?” (MOM, par 22).
Some people might believe that giving young children cliché toys for their gender will pigeonhole them and will have issues with their gender for most of their adolescent or adult lives. If a girl is given a truck while her friends have dolls that would cause more confusion than just handing her a Barbie doll. That little girl, whether she had the doll or not will decide who she wants to become as she matures. Humans (at least Americans) have free will and the right to decide the person he or she will become and no fire truck or doll will prevent that path from being taken.

Work Cited

MOM. "Little Man. Watching My Son’s Socialization. or “Gender - It’s Wicked Constructed”." Weblog post. Outside the (toy) Box. 2007. 23 Feb. 2009.

Senioritis

In my english class we are discussing diversity, rules that are placed on people by society, or rules that we place on ourselves. In class we read the poem 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid, where it gave a list of rules that was necessary to follow to be the "perfect girl". In class we were given an assignment to make our own "Girl" poem based on the certain groups that we are place in by society or groups that we place ourselves in. I am happy to be part of the group labeled second semester seniors. Unfortunately, to be part of that group everyone is stricken by senioritis (basically, an incurable disease where you cannot do any work, you act out in class, etc. because you are tired of school and have been or will be accepted into college - just plain lazy, but for good reason!!) But to be in this idolized group of second semester seniors, there are still some required rules that you cannot break: texting in class, losing your assignment pad, talking out, forgetting to do homework, and showing up late to class. 

Have fun reading my poem and please post responses if you have senioritis or have seen student's affected by it.

Senioritis

Forget all the memories of acting studious; you will become a lazy second semester senior and you will succeed; lose your assignment pad, it’s the first step to forgetting everything that you should be accomplishing if you were not a senior; forget to charge your laptop each night so it won’t work during school and this is how you make the surprised face when your laptop is dead, this is how you sit in class when everyone has your laptop when you don’t; this is how you text in class without being caught, this is the story you tell the teacher when he or she catches you, this is the freaking sound you make when your phone is taken away, this is the demanding voice you use to get it back and this is the way you walk on your march down to the office and tell them a phony story of why it is vital to your life to have the phone now; this is how your face is when you pretend to listen in physics class, this is how you make obnoxious comments when you are in physics class, don’t forget to force the juniors to give you their labs because you are a senior and they now need to work for you; this is how you stretch your legs out in class, this is how you pretend you are awake or just rubbing your eyes when you are really asleep, this is how you wake up from a nap without being obvious in class, it's your right to be tired, you have been watching TV all night neglecting your homework; this is how you pretend to search for your homework when you know you did not do it; this is how to speed write last night’s math homework in the hallway right before class or right when you walk into the room, this is how you can't take the quiz because your calculator died, this is how to panic when the printer won’t work and you have had a month to do the essay or turn your essay in at 11:59 p.m. on turnitin.com; this is how you walk into class when you are late returning from lunch, this is your teacher’s face when you are late from lunch, this is the story you make after you walk into a teacher’s class late, these are the curse words you let slip forgetting you are in school: F^©&, S%*+, $!u+; this is the route you enter school when you try to slip past Mr. P because you were getting Dunkin Donuts, this is the noise your alarm makes after the fifth time you pressed snooze; this is the snotty way you carry yourself because you are a senior and you have that right; don’t let other people get in your way, you own the school; this is the speech you will have with your parents when they see your third and fourth marking period grades and this is the speech you give when you say you still deserve an amazing graduation present because you worked hard for three and a half years; when you finally pick your college you start not even showing up to school, this is the face you make when it is June 25th, these are the things you say on June 25th; this is what has become of your class of 2009; this is what will become of the class of 2010.

Hel'um has 26 different articles that discuss ways to motivate seniors.