Gender and Language

 I have been pondering to myself and staying in the same mindset as a lacrosse player who attends Governors who loves to lift weights, goes for runs, and doing something a male would typically do. I'm clarifying what I am like, and that includes being the youngest of 3 brothers who are somewhat similar to me in the way of doing something masculine. However, I veered away from my usual lifestyle this week and focused on something else, which is learning about gender and language.

    To start things off, we had the task of determining whether or not a male or female was writing the essays being read out loud. What we discovered was that there were differences between the two. The male writings were studied based on contests, battles, overcoming obstacles, conquering nature, and defending their honor like a true protagonist would. Girls, however, were writing about community, learning from nature, and achieving a goal. The reason I'm writing about the differences is because the language they use affects the way these genders are treated. Mr. Roberston said himself, that he has gone through some negative battering throughout his life such as being called a faggot or a pussy. With that being said, I grew up around males, played sports, and had masculine friends, so I can relate to this being the case in some given scenarios when people are roughhousing. However, none of these things seemed to get to me because of the way I am programmed, which relates to the direct language that males typically portray and act like, such as conquering. I figured, if you're trying to conquer and be successful, how are you supposed to accomplish your goals and let a little misinconvience or bad mouth affect your ongoing personality, which could then throw off your future? I also can strongly relate to writing or talking about a sports outing or obstacle I have overcome to shape me into the person I am today. 

    I'm not going to write about what it's like to be a girl from my personal experience, but I will write about what I have learned in a short amount of time. With that being said, my mom was raised as the only daughter in her family with 3 other brothers. She absolutely loved being around sports and good-natured males who meant well. This correlates my brain to the thought of males not being welcoming and nice to females in particular. The fact that women are said to get fewer business deals and callbacks makes me think of the girl's rights movements that want the best for females of all kinds. All of the statistics and data clearly show that females are mistreated in many given scenarios. This is a tough stat to interpret because I feel not at my best when thinking about my mom. 

    As time progresses, I have had this question whether its the people making up the world causing problems to those that are put at a disadvantage such as a single mom or medical patient. The world isn't perfect, and we would like to see how gender can be dropped as a whole and equality will prosper the land.