What does it mean to you to be male/female? Where did you learn what it meant to be a man/woman? Have your ideas changed as you’ve grown? Explain.
Answer peers 3-5 sentences each seperetly.
Peer# 1: To me being a female is having XX sex chromosomes, I was born with it. However, being a woman is different. Every woman is different just as every man is different. I think what makes me a woman is how I identify and carry myself as. I feel most comfortable and happy labeled as a woman. I think most of the aspects of myself that consider me a woman are learned from TV, interacting with people, and learning from my mom. When I was younger, I thought what made a woman a woman was a set of “rules” kind of– a woman had to be responsible, educated, kind, love shoes, know how to do makeup/hair/nails, and have to get married to be a true woman (I was a very narrow-minded child). I think what changed is that I grew up and saw the world beyond what I saw on TV or overheard grown-ups talk about as a kid, I realized that womanhood is unique. Now I consider myself a woman because of my values, beliefs, traits, hobbies, aspirations, and everything else that makes me Shaniya. I identify as a woman because all of the little things that make up me are womanly. After all, I said so, lol.
Peer# 2: To me, being female is just who I am. I was born female. In our reading this week, sex is described as being “birth-assigned,” while gender is influenced by culture’s expectations of men and women. But, I see that as intertwined; one naturally flows into the other. It is difficult for me to separate my biological traits from my physical and mental characteristics; they are the same. The ability to conceive and give birth is one of the most important things to me about being a woman, and a difference between men and women that cannot be disputed. Moreover, the issue of procreation speaks to the biological or natural differences between men and women. Our reading mentioned that a premise of natural selection is that it promotes survival and reproduction. I think it is true that children learn the roles of girls and boys from an early age from their parents, peers, and other adults. But, children will play what they enjoy, so it goes to reason that girls like to pretend to be mommies and boys like to crash cars and pretend to build with tools. I work in a Kindergarten class, and kids gravitate to what they innately like. Boys play house as much as girls; they take on different roles. The boys like to pretend to cook or be a pet vet, and the girls want to build with blocks and play with cars. One boy in our class we affectionately call our “class emotional support.”He is caring and the first to check on a friend who is upset. Ironically, a girl has taken on the role of “class president.” She makes everyone do what they should be doing and always has something enlightening to say. In these ways, boys and girls share similarities. And as adults, this remains true. Men share the tasks of keeping a home and raising children in many families; now, some stay home while the woman works. As an adult, I see men and women as complementary. Both have essential roles in a family and society, even when there is a crossover. Man or woman, we each have unique personalities that don’t always fit into societal norms. I think the most critical aspect of this discussion is remembering that we are all human, valuable, and deserving of respect from each other. What one chooses or doesn’t choose to do sexually does not change that.
Peer# 3: To me, being male means having male genetalia and being female means having female genetalia. Some characteristics I consider to be female include carrying and birthing children, being nurturing, and having more intimate social relations. Some characteristics I consider to be male include providing the sperm to create children, being outspoken/ a leader, and being mechanically inclined. That said, I don’t believe only males can have male characteristics, or that only females can have female characteristics. I believe I learned these traits from watching my grandparents and mother, and from partners I’ve been with. I will never forget one partner I was with that was non-binary who taught me not only about what non-binary means, but also showed me that those assigned male at birth could be gentle (and considerate) during sexual interactions. My idea of what it means to be male and female has changed as I’ve grown. In high school, I thought women should be able to take care of the home, work, and still take care of themselves (such as working out regularly). It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I met men who normalized doing these same things. I also didn’t know what pansexual, non-binary and other various sexual and gender orientations meant (let alone that they existed) until I was in my 30s
