Gender

1.) From a young age, I have always been taught that one should always act and express the way they feel. As a child, I played soccer, softball, basketball, etc. However, I was also a ballerina for 10 years. As I got older, I noticed that boys would play in the dirt at recess while the girls would swing on the swings. I guess from a young age I realized the masculine stereotype for boys, and the feminine one for girls. My parents never told me I had to be a ballerina instead of a soccer player. It was always just what I was interested in. However in middle school I noticed a difference. Girls were considered "weird" if they wore boy things such as shorts and sneakers to school everyday. And boys were "weird" if they didn't play a sport. I think from a young age we are all taught through experience that boys are the "sporty" ones, while girls should be playing with dolls and painting nails.
2.) Having an older brother and an older sister, I have noticed first hand how things can be different between boys and girls. My brother is always the one to help out my dad when fixing things around the house, or even helping him bring in our 12 foot Christmas tree into the house. My sister and I are the two that usually clean up the dishes after dinner or help our mom fold the laundry. These chores have been things we have seen our mom and dad do since we were little, and it has not changed much since we've gotten older.
3.) Going to the Mount has instilled in me a sense of confidence in being a woman. I have learned that society needs more woman leaders, and my classmates and I are the people of the future. In today's society, gender differences are prominent in the work place, and we are the ones who are going to be in charge of changing that. The Mount fosters intelligence in young women, which in turn will change society's view of us in the future.
4.) I think that "back in the day" men and women were very different. By this I mean watching old movies, you see the man open the woman's door when she is getting out of the car, or entering a building. Not that this doesnt happen anymore, but the importance of it has been forgotten. Boys in today's society are being taught to look down on girls or to "use" them. I do think that this is only an issue in immature teenage boys, or maybe that is my biased opinion as a teenage girl hoping that boys will ever become more mature. I think that when boys get older, they realize the importance of gender differences (in a good way) such as holding the door or buying a girl flowers.