My Gender Identity | Quick Homework Help
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My Gender Identity
I identify myself with the male gender; naturally, my gender matches my biological sex. Since when I was young, I have always perceived myself as a man and my thoughts have revolved around masculine duties. At times, I thought of being a warrior or fighter in my future life. I always wanted to grow up as a strong man and have that job that will make me a dominating figure.
GENDER RECOGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT
My first realization of gender differences dawned to me when I was four years old. This was a time when my cousin, Jessy, who was three years older than me visited our home for several days. Being older than me, Jessy meant a fool out of me and applied makeup on my face. My face was filled with beauty foundation, my eyes were lined with mascara, and my lips were glowing with lipstick. Being a small kid, my innocence could explain it all. No sooner had Jessy completed her beauty therapy for me than my dad entered the room. He gave me a stunning look, and I immediately realized things were not right with me and the makeup.
Following this incident, Dad held a talk with me about my take on makeup. He asked me whether I loved makeup and if I would love doing makeup in the future. All through this time, dad had that disappointed look on his face and one would spontaneously tell that he was not happy with me. I remembered that I had never seen dad or his male friends to make up on their faces. The guilty was so much that I cried myself out the entire day for realizing that I had done something wrong. He made me realize that makeup is meant for women and girls and not for the male gender. This I consider a vital experience as far as realizing my gender identity is related.
Other than that childhood experience, my dad has done a lot more towards attaining my gender identity. His physical appearance is a thing that I admire and wish to have in the future. He is a tall, physically fit strong and handsome man whom I would love to take after. I always loved his tattoos, and I remember when I was a young boy I used to imagine they were masculine. I thought they were obvious features to men, and I always longed for the time when my body would get tattoos like those of my dad. My dads physical looks always made me feel secure from any danger while in his company.
I still have dads photos when he was a teenage boy, and I love the things he used to do. I feel that the things that my dad did such as smoking cigarettes and riding motorbikes are male oriented. I admired his behavior and looked forward to being like dad.
Other than my dad, my mum has also contributed to my gender identity. When I was young, I remember her telling me things like: this is only for girls, this is right for boys and stop behaving like a girl. Thus, I grew up knowing that there are things that society does not expect of the male gender, and I will always try to avoid them. Anytime I behaved like a girl (cried often, begged mum to buy me something), mum would give a stunning look to warn me that I was diverting from my gender identity.
Being masculine comes with responsibilities such as protecting children and women. My dad has always told me that society excuses women for being weak and sometimes silly. This never happens in the case of men, who are always expected to be sturdy; even during stressful moments, they should remain firm. They should be ready to face danger even at the expense of their female counterparts.
OBSERVING GENDER IDENTITY
In my everyday life, I observe behaviors that are in line with the communitys expectation towards my gender. I do not keep long hair, though I sometimes admire having a long beard. I dress in a masculine way in both color and style. I love masculine colors such as blue, green, and white and never put on feminine colors such as red, yellow, or pink. My decorating style is supportive as men are commonly made to be supportive. My schedule is of a masculine nature as I do not waste time furnishing up fine details like ladies. For instance, I spend an average of fifteen minutes on morning errands (showering, dressing, and taking breakfast) before I rush to class. The girls spend at least 45 minutes on morning errands since they have to attend to every aspect of their look. This way, I feel life is much easier for men as society does not expect too much from them in terms of physical attractiveness (Prentice 11).
STEREOTYPES ON GENDER IDENTITY AND TRAITS
I think the society expects men to be protective of the women and children around them. Masculinity is a symbol of power and domination, and this is what men should live up to. A man should be the familys breadwinner and in all cases support his family. I also believe that men are expected to maintain proper physical appearance as a manifestation of their gender. Men should be physically fit with no fleshy bodies but masculine. On the other side, women should be slim, thin, and tender; thus men should feel the need to protect women. So, I always take up the duty of protection whenever am with my girlfriend or my female friends. Thus I believe it is a responsibility predefined by nature (Bertrand 2).
On another note, I have the stereotype of men as wild human beings. From the ancient times of men hunting and killing wild animals, I tend to believe that men are meant to be wild. With this imagination, I feel that men should be fearless and more reckless; thus they can venture in more daring activities. In such, together with my friends, we often go drinking, playing cards, and gossiping about life touching issues. Therefore, I would say that natural men have got a better sense of humor than girls.
Being masculine has both advantages and disadvantages. Men are advantaged in that they are expected to be tough and not show their emotions; however, they are invested with the onus of protecting women and children as well as providing for their families. In accordance with my gender, I have learnt to control my emotions and overcome every sadness and disappointment, unlike my girl friends that cry, laugh, or shout every other time. These are ways of physically expressing emotions, and they are unexpected with men (Stets 3).
Therefore, I can confidently confess that I am straight in my sexual orientation and am always attracted to young women. I find womens bodies to be more attractive to the eye than those of men. I like to dominate while in the company of girls, but I sometimes feel insecure when I am around tough girls. I have a nice girlfriend who is slim and tiny, and thus I protect, love, and care for her in every aspect. I find it fascinating the way girls have everything smaller than that of men lie fingers, toes, hands, and the entire body. I am happy with my social orientation, and I have always appreciated the diversity of genders and their expected roles (Newsweek 4). Thus, I have found a good example of harmony between nature and mind and how nature shaped my existence and how I have responded to nature.
Works Cited
Bertrand Marianne, Kamenica, Emir & Pan, Jessica. Gender identity and relative Income within
Households, 2013. Web source. http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emir.kamenica/documents/identity.pdf. Retrieved on 12th November 2013.
Newsweek. Gender Stereotypes: Masculinity and Feminity, November 6th 2000. Web source.
http://www.feminish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Brannon_ch07.pdf. Retrieved on 12th November 2013.
Prentice, Debora & Carranza, Erica. What Women and Men Should be, Shouldnt be, are Allowed
to be and Dont have to be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes, 2002. Web Source. http://psych.princeton.edu/psychology/research/prentice/pubs/Prentice%20Carranza.pdf. Retrieved on 12th November 2013.
Stets, Jan & Burke, Peter. Feminity/Masculinity, n.d. http://wat2146.ucr.edu/Papers/00b.pdf.
Retrieved on 12th November 2013.
