Blog #2

Lilly Crolius

Dr. Christina Ivy

Comm 160

March 2, 2017

One thing that really struck me in the past couple weeks of class was the phrase “gender is something you do, not are.” I can see where people are coming from when they identify with that statement, but overall I do not agree with it. I am not going out of my way to offend anyone by posting this but I am a very science based person and rely heavily on biological facts to back up this whole gender revolution. To me, if a person is born with male reproductive organs then they are male and if they are born with female reproductive organs they are female. However, I do recognize that there are rare and special cases where people can be born with both. I feel these people are the only people in society who would be able to call themselves “genderfluid.”  

I will admit that a huge part of how we perceive the sexes is how we are exposed to the normalities of them in our cultures. Girls are more prone to like glitter, pink, and unicorns because as children we are immersed with toys that have some if not all of those features. We then grow up with personal connections to “girly” things and thus are more “feminine.” Boys, however, are known for being drawn to blues, toy guns, and dinosaurs for the same reasons and as a result grow up to be more “masculine.” However, when people say girls are conditioned to be maternal because they’re given dolls, I have to disagree. Although dolls may promote this behavior, it is in our genetic coding to be this way. From an evolutionary standpoint, females have always been the ones to care for children. Our organs literally produce nutrients for them. This doesn’t mean there can’t be any crossovers, though. Yes, men can stay home and take care of the children and be maternal, and yes back in the hunter-gatherer period women technically could go hunting if they so chose. My point still stands though that it just so happens that one gender is usually just better at certain things than the other.

I consider myself very feminine. I like wearing heels, dresses, and doing my hair and makeup. However, I have indulged in activities that are male dominated. For example, my high school did not have a girls golf team, so I joined the boys. After two years I became captain and was ranked the third best player on the team. I owe them all a thank you for accepting me and treating me as their own. If girls, or boys, so wish to partake in certain activities that are dominated by the opposite sex, then they can no problem depending on the activity and what people they encounter in the process of partaking. Not everything is handed to you, you have to work for some things.

It is sad but I agree that some sports should be off limits to most of the other genders. For example, I don’t find it fair if a boy were to join a female team after puberty because chances are he is physically stronger and may accidentally hurt the females on the team. The same goes for females with sports such as football. Due to our culture norms, males are conditioned to not physically harm females. If a girl were to join a football team most boys on the team wouldn’t be able to perform at their highest skill level our of fear of harming the opposite sex. There are personal exceptions, though. If all parties were to agree that one gender shouldn’t hold back and they deem it fair and okay, then, by all means, it is okay.