Aging, Gender, Libertarianism, American Football and Me

Seth Martin-Wick

Writing I

Aging, Gender, Libertarianism, American Football and Me

 (Above) A picture of myself, doing what I love, whether it be acceptable to whomever cares to notice or not. It's a way to vent and a way to get thoughts out.

The birds and the bees; it has absolutely everything and nothing to do with this prompt. It’s an explanation that almost every child has gone through. It clearly sets apart the boys from the girls for good. But, what if these differences are more of pointer than a rule? The differences between males and females have always been in question for as long as people have questioned purpose of anything in life. That being said, the males in society have always been the dominant group. Throughout my entire life, my perception of gender was simply black and white. There were always boys and there always were girls and that was where the lines were drawn. Now, it’s clearly evident that the line of grey is so much thicker than I realized before, whether it be physically or mentally. I now realize that, among all of the various differences between the two groups, there is really not that deep of a ravine between after all.

The differences between genders are socially acceptable as biological, physical, emotional mental, and social. There are also differences between how boys are raised as to how girls are brought up. From an early age, the idea of boy versus girl is implanted into the head of every child in the United States of America. This can be attributed to the media, to popular misconception and to parents from a more divided generation. As summarized during a conference by neuroscientist Laura Nelson, children’s brains are plastic, they can be molded to believe and jump to conclusions starting at a very young age. In my opinion, this very example is exactly what is occurring amongst people today.

The idea of these prejudices and social standards and leanings are being bred from a very early age. For example, in the article “Toys Start the Gender Equality Rift” by the aforementioned author, Katrin Bennhold, she describes a scene where the toys in a toy store are completely separated from each other. They are separated by blue and pink walls, and signs signifying the clear divide between the sections. “Girls’ toys are often beauty and home, while toys for boys are mostly about being active, building things and having adventures.” (Beinhold, pg 1) This ‘rift’ can cause some prejudicial tendencies for the out-of-ordinary kids among young children.

In the case of Allie, as detailed in the article “It’s OK to Be Neither: Teaching That Supports Gender-Variant Children” the judgments and confusion of her classmates are evident. Allie was a tomboy in her first-grade class. She liked to where her hair in cornrows, and she was uncomfortable with the way she looked so she wore a hoodie all day during her first day of school. Throughout the first day, Allison was promptly referred to as a ‘he’ for the entirety. The following day the teacher corrected her classmates in assuring them that she actually was a girl. “They asked her a lot of questions that she wasn’t prepared for: ‘Why do you look like a boy?’ ‘If you’re a girl, why do you always wear boys’ clothes?’ Some even told her that she wasn’t supposed to wear boys’ clothes if she was a girl.” (Tempel, pg. 1) This instance in itself is purely macroscopic. This example represents so much of how children are being led to react. Exactly how can another person criticize some else’s life choices based solely on their outward appearance?

This is where, as I have grown, I have become more and more aware and accepting. As a younger kid, I was raised in a fairly conservative catholic family. With that being said, I was taught to have the mindset of the 1950’s or the 1690’s from an early age. No one ever actually stated it, but the sentiment was blatant in the fact that there was a distinct line where there were things a girl would do and a boy would do. This mindset forced me to do things that I did not want to do, like play sports for example. While I was forced to go to football practice, the only thing I wanted to do was draw, write, listen to the alternative or punk rock music everyone in my family despised so much, or learn how to skateboard.

While my example is a lot less of a degree than others, I can absolutely see where those few people who are the subject of confusion and judgment are coming from. In most cases the variance is subtle. Like, a boy who likes to dance, or a girl who likes to play baseball, but in some cases there are genuine and serious worries and decisions. An example is from the article “What’s So Bad about a Boy Who Wants to Wear a Dress?” Alex was a young boy who liked to wear dresses and behave like a girl. “Alex, [his parents wrote in an email] ‘has been gender fluid for as long as they could remember.’”(Padawer, pg. 4) By the time Alex had reached the first grade, he had established that he was indeed, mentally, a boy as well as anatomically. Although he still did like to wear dresses, he was for the most part a “normal” boy.

With all of the pressure by society to conform and stick to categories, the male gender seems that it is most under pressure. While Alex, in the previously mentioned paragraph, was subjected to clarification by parents and through teachers, the social norm for a girl is a lot more different than for a boy. “No one would raise an eyebrow at a girl who like throwing a football or wearing a Spider Man T-shirt.” (Padawer, pg. 1)

In my opinion, gender neutrality will never be achieved as long as closed-mindedness is being spoon fed to young children.