Penguins Rock.
This is a journal for my Women's Studies capstone, but I hadn't posted in here in awhile. I figured it was well overdue.
So I was walking down the sidewalk with Jarren today, and a bee was flying near us. Jarren freaked out, and I reassured you, “It’s okay; he’s gone.” Almost immediately, I told her that I had just gender stereotyped the bee. I guess it’s good that I at least recognize my errors. Yet, when will I finally overcome them? By buying into gendered stereotypes in society, I am one of the herd of lemmings creating self-fulfilling prophecies of male and female roles. In my textbook for English 328, Language and Gender, the author stated that even she slips up from time to time in her pronoun usage. Maybe I shouldn’t feel so badly. I guess this situation just got the wheels turning.
We kept walking, and the bee situation brought up animal studies of gender and the biological vs. social dichotomy of societal roles. I think penguins are such fascinating animals, in a large part due to their somewhat unconventional gender roles. After a female penguin lays an egg, she goes off to hunt for fish, while her male counterpart stays and tends to the unborn penguin. The male rests the egg between its legs for warmth and protection. If the penguin lets the egg fall, the ice and cold temperatures will freeze the egg, potentially killing the offspring. When the female returns, the male then goes off to hunt for its own food. Although it is hard to examine empirically, I have to wonder if baby penguins have a strong/stronger bond with their fathers than mothers, in large part due to this nurturing. This would possibly attest to the strength of social, rather than biological, bonds of parenting. Perhaps it is too much of a stretch to compare the animal kingdom to the human species. Yet, maybe not.
I am an Animal Planet nerd and once watched a special on orangutans. These animals have proved to be intricately linked with human makeup, often exhibiting more emotion and reasoning than most animal species. At a special orangutan camp made for abandoned orangutan children, these creatures are raised by humans and taught the skills needed to survive in the wild on their own. They go through several stages of development, depending on their age and survival aptitude. There is an infant camp to teach emotion and basic motor skills; there is an intermediate camp for the orangutans to develop their social skills and basic environment skills; there is an advanced camp for the older orangutans to advance their independence, being taught environmental skills such as building nests and finding food. Once the orangutan seems ready, the camp releases her or him into the wild.
One infant orangutan came to the camp with its mother. Its mother was sick and needed to be separated from its mother to thrive in health and nourishment. The director of the camp carried around this infant in a papoose, feeding it, nurturing it, and filling in the role of mother. Once its biological mother recovered, they tried to reunite the mother with its baby. Although the mother recognized her young, the baby was frightened, clinging to its human “mother” and crying.
Perhaps the sociologist in me overrules most biological ideas I encounter, but I strongly believe in socialization playing the primary part in upbringing. Whether this applies to parenting roles, gender roles, or stereotypes about what both should be, one cannot deny the immense power of those around us influencing our lives. Perhaps we are not too far off from the animal kingdom; no social role is set in stone.
In further news:
- I took 2 leadership roles in my sorority and got Greek New Member of the Year in the girls' division.
- I made Outlet Hip Hop Dance Group and Mortar Board.
- I picked up a second job as a Student Tele-counselor in the Office of Admissions.
- I have 2 more semesters in college, I'll graduate with a double major in Women's Studies and Sociology. Then, I'm on to grad school. I'm looking at University of Colorado, Denver for an MA in Domestic Violence and then IU B-town for a PhD in Gender Studies.
- I'm (hopefully) going to be Secretary of Diversity next year for the best student government exec anyone has ever seen!
- For anyone that hadn't heard, my mom moved to Indy, and my grandma moved in with her. She's doing well. Hence, I'm not planning on returning to live in Fort Wayne anytime soon.
- I need to quit smoking. But I need to want it first.
- I think that's it. My life isn't too interesting.
So I was walking down the sidewalk with Jarren today, and a bee was flying near us. Jarren freaked out, and I reassured you, “It’s okay; he’s gone.” Almost immediately, I told her that I had just gender stereotyped the bee. I guess it’s good that I at least recognize my errors. Yet, when will I finally overcome them? By buying into gendered stereotypes in society, I am one of the herd of lemmings creating self-fulfilling prophecies of male and female roles. In my textbook for English 328, Language and Gender, the author stated that even she slips up from time to time in her pronoun usage. Maybe I shouldn’t feel so badly. I guess this situation just got the wheels turning.
We kept walking, and the bee situation brought up animal studies of gender and the biological vs. social dichotomy of societal roles. I think penguins are such fascinating animals, in a large part due to their somewhat unconventional gender roles. After a female penguin lays an egg, she goes off to hunt for fish, while her male counterpart stays and tends to the unborn penguin. The male rests the egg between its legs for warmth and protection. If the penguin lets the egg fall, the ice and cold temperatures will freeze the egg, potentially killing the offspring. When the female returns, the male then goes off to hunt for its own food. Although it is hard to examine empirically, I have to wonder if baby penguins have a strong/stronger bond with their fathers than mothers, in large part due to this nurturing. This would possibly attest to the strength of social, rather than biological, bonds of parenting. Perhaps it is too much of a stretch to compare the animal kingdom to the human species. Yet, maybe not.
I am an Animal Planet nerd and once watched a special on orangutans. These animals have proved to be intricately linked with human makeup, often exhibiting more emotion and reasoning than most animal species. At a special orangutan camp made for abandoned orangutan children, these creatures are raised by humans and taught the skills needed to survive in the wild on their own. They go through several stages of development, depending on their age and survival aptitude. There is an infant camp to teach emotion and basic motor skills; there is an intermediate camp for the orangutans to develop their social skills and basic environment skills; there is an advanced camp for the older orangutans to advance their independence, being taught environmental skills such as building nests and finding food. Once the orangutan seems ready, the camp releases her or him into the wild.
One infant orangutan came to the camp with its mother. Its mother was sick and needed to be separated from its mother to thrive in health and nourishment. The director of the camp carried around this infant in a papoose, feeding it, nurturing it, and filling in the role of mother. Once its biological mother recovered, they tried to reunite the mother with its baby. Although the mother recognized her young, the baby was frightened, clinging to its human “mother” and crying.
Perhaps the sociologist in me overrules most biological ideas I encounter, but I strongly believe in socialization playing the primary part in upbringing. Whether this applies to parenting roles, gender roles, or stereotypes about what both should be, one cannot deny the immense power of those around us influencing our lives. Perhaps we are not too far off from the animal kingdom; no social role is set in stone.
In further news:
- I took 2 leadership roles in my sorority and got Greek New Member of the Year in the girls' division.
- I made Outlet Hip Hop Dance Group and Mortar Board.
- I picked up a second job as a Student Tele-counselor in the Office of Admissions.
- I have 2 more semesters in college, I'll graduate with a double major in Women's Studies and Sociology. Then, I'm on to grad school. I'm looking at University of Colorado, Denver for an MA in Domestic Violence and then IU B-town for a PhD in Gender Studies.
- I'm (hopefully) going to be Secretary of Diversity next year for the best student government exec anyone has ever seen!
- For anyone that hadn't heard, my mom moved to Indy, and my grandma moved in with her. She's doing well. Hence, I'm not planning on returning to live in Fort Wayne anytime soon.
- I need to quit smoking. But I need to want it first.
- I think that's it. My life isn't too interesting.