Artifact 2: Growing Up Differently

Gender-assigned tasks in the home, work force, and society can both belittle a gender as well as empower it. In some circumstances, certain jobs that are emphasized as belonging to one gender in particular can fit well, in other circumstances it can limit a gender’s potential. Cultural contradiction in this area is also incredibly unfortunate in terms of the range and scope of one gender’s skill set. 
 
In some cultures, house work is concentrated among the women, in others it is distributed evenly. In others still, women don’t have the ability to get jobs, pursue careers, etc. Personally, I am very grateful to have grown up in a home in which I was afforded a more progressive, empowering outlook. The most effective aspect of role division for myself growing up was my family’s main provider. When classmates asked me what my dad did for work, I answered, “my dad’s a stay-at-home dad and my mom sells insurance.” 
 
My father decided to raise me while letting my mother pursue her career, which she is incredibly good at. Because my parents chose this non-traditional (though becoming less out-of-the-norm) styled household, I was instilled with values that I took for granted for many years before I really needed to think about it. I have never had to endure the perspective that I am less important to the work force and to society because I am a woman. In my home growing up, a woman payed for the groceries and payed the bills and filled out the taxes. I also never saw my father as lazy or any derivative of the term. I grew up surrounded by a positive male influence who demonstrated to me the kind of support that a spouse should bring to a household in the case that they are not the main provider. 
 
I plan to work toward a successful career. I also plan to be dedicated to a family I love someday. Because of my upbringing, I know that both the path to be the provider in the family as well as the primary caretaker will be rewarding and significant. 

Artifact 1: Sex, Gender, and Preconceived Notions

As a child, somewhere along the way I learned that “gender” was a way to refer to “sex” without saying a word that would make myself and my peers giggle. In adolescence, they meant the same thing: whether a person was a boy or a girl. I maintained this understanding for years without questioning it, and it wasn’t until late high school when I entered into a relationship with a transgender young man. Luckily, I was not blamed for this small bit of ignorance and was educated with patience.

After discussion and my own research, I believe I’ve reached a fair understanding of the difference between sex and gender. Sex being the biological assignments such as chromosomes, genitalia, and hormones that a person has no control over; gender being one’s identification whether it aligns with sex or not, as well as social constructs that determine how each sex should behave and present themselves.

It seems that a majority of individuals’ gender identification align with their assigned sex, but I’ve learned how dangerous it can be to assume. The best example I have comes from one of my own experiences. While I was in this relationship with (we’ll call him) John, I noticed a lot of things I never had to notice prior to knowing him. He was born a female and underwent top surgery while we dated. A few days before the procedure we were on a coffee date to calm his nerves. While the young lady behind the counter rang us up, she and I struck up a conversation. She casually brought my boyfriend into the discussion and referred to him in third person as “she.” Immediately, she stuttered and tried to correct herself, offering “they” and “he” looking a tad hopeless. I watched John handle this encounter with grace, politely telling her, “‘he’ is fine.” He was very mature about the situation, but I couldn’t help but notice the pain in his eyes.

On the way home he quietly remarked, “I didn’t think people could tell anymore.” It broke my heart. I was informed that he was transgender when I met him, so I had always seen him as man. I never thought about the lens through which other people viewed him, with lingering feminine traits. And there was nothing I could do about it.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned and the most important piece of advice I can give is not to assume. Be patient with yourself if you slip up, and do your best to respect a person’s gender, keeping in mind that it is not always the same as their assigned sex.