Gender Bending at its Best..

Lately we have been talking about the roles gender play in society. Patriarchy is the blindly written rules of in essence male dominance. Reading through all the different articles and seeing how Patriarchy is viewed by different people I see that it is very clear that I was a prime example of a home where these rules were set into play. I myself was taught that femininity was very important aspects of a girl, at the same time don’t be ashamed to show your independence. As a young girl I was bought dolls, an easy bake oven, kitchen sets and other domestic toys to help show me the roles I should play when I became a woman. As I stated I was taught the importance of femininity but also how to stand on my own. There are very few times where I challenged the roles of gender. For a short period of time, I was brought up in a single parent home. I was used to seeing my mom take on the role of a father and mother. It made me realize that a woman is just as powerful and knowledge to make it without a man. When my stepdad started coming around there were things he felt that I should not do. One small incident that I can recall in particular is when he found I was a part of a softball team. He felt as if it was a sport where I would become hurt or injury could be caused. Not long after he found out, I tried out for the cheerleading squad, he found no threat to that. I found that oddly ironic because I can get hurt doing either. The idea of running around and acting masculine while playing softball was his only issue. He felt as if cheerleading was meant for girls. This situation is more sexist than anything but it just one of the few times I can remember gender roles playing apart in my life.