Gender identification, expression, and stratification.

[draion]

Another update that isn't necessarily about my life! And a public one too. It's one of those pensive entries where your thoughts on the subject would be even more valued than usual (which is already a lot on its own

Comments

[speria]

There's a lot I can say about girl vs. boy toys that are sold today, mainly because I still frequent the toy section as I have a two-year-old nephew and am still a six-year-old at heart...but I would rather react to the more interesting parts rather than talk about that.

I was never really a tomboy or a girly girl while I was growing up. Honestly, for most of my childhood I would rather read books than play with toys. I'm completely serious. They called home because I was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in first grade. I was equally interested in the building toys and toy kitchen.

My past seriously flips between the gender-assigned activities and toys. I was a cheerleader for a lot of my childhood (started as a Jr. Cheerleader at 4 because my sister was a cheerleader and just kept doing it for ~6 years) but I also wanted to take martial arts (which I ended up doing after I quit cheerleading for ~4-5 years). Other than a massive love of stuffed animals, I never really fit into either a girlish or boyish category. I know it sounds weird, but if I were to take my physical sex out of the equation, I would probably have a very hard time deciding what gender I was. Yeah, my mom wanted me to be nice and submissive and girly but in the end I just ended up being me. I'm both boyish and girlish. I like domestic things like cooking or crafting, but I go by a traditionally masculine name - Nick - and prefer masculine clothing over feminine clothing.

(I will admit that for most of my life I did end up being a very submissive person, but that was a mixture of my easy-going and relaxed nature and social anxiety. I'm still working on the latter it's getting there.)

I am disappointed that we still try to instill such strong gender roles in children, but I know from experience that children will play with what they want to. Just because you give a girl all Barbies to play with doesn't mean that they wont run outside and build a building out of rocks or something. I think it's more about the personality of the person that matters in the end. They could grow up seeming cisgendered but then break out of their gender typing later on.

I have a two-year-old nephew and we let him play with anything that he likes whether it's his bike, or stuffed animals, or cars, or even the kitchen set at school. He's going to like what he likes. Whether it's from the blue section or the pink section doesn't matter to me. He's going to become the person he wants to become in the end.

I think I forgot halfway through that this should probably wrap up into a neat little comment package, but I think I got my point across mostly kind of maybe.

[draion]

I'm sorry it took a while to respond, I've been busy as hell and going through some things IRL.

I held back on this entry, so one day, you and I will have to go on a gender rant.

I had NO idea that you were a cheerleader! I forget that so many girls are made to be one when they're younger, because it's the sport ~meant~ for them at that age. And the whole sex-identification indecision doesn't sound weird to me at all. In fact, I didn't even question in my own head why you went by a male alias online (I figured it was for RP purposes, or even so far as to secure yourself online).

Well, entering college and being more independent will surely be a catalyst for your social anxiety, and I hope it works in a way that'll help it.

Yes, I can't say that every child that's forced into their expected gender role is going to follow it and become some societal robot. Hence, the existence of transgender. And I'm sure your nephew is going to end up being as intellectually extraordinary and quirky as you are.

You did get your point across. Thanks for commenting. <3

[speria]

No problem. We all go through things. You have the right to respond whenever you get to it. <3

I'll hold you to it. Sounds like fun!

Actually, it's because that really is my IRL alias too. Not really an alias, I guess, but that's surely what everyone that I haven't met within school calls me.
My middle name is Nichole and we had too many Amandas in our Girl Scout troop so everyone went by their middle names. Then it just stuck. First it was Nichole, then "Nikki" (that's how my mom spelled it), then finally just to Nick. I've really not used the name Amanda out of school for quite a few years. My mom questions me putting the c in it, but I just like how it looks better.

I hope the same. But luckily I've already done my research just in case something does happen and I know where to go if I do need any help with it.

I really do hope he becomes an interesting person. I can't say that I think that he will be in the right environment for that to happen, but I can still hope. My sister is quite literally completely opposite of me. Not that that's bad, variety is the spice of life after all, but I have a feeling about things that could happen. Anyway, that's irrelevant.