My Connection Between Language and Gender

    This week’s topic on language and gender made me reflect on my own life, especially my childhood. After reading the Atlantic article– “Is It Okay to Say ‘Hey Guys’?” I also realized that maybe my teachers have not been trying to give us pet names, but instead finding alternatives to referring to everyone as guys. For instance, some teachers like to use folks or peeps, but I really applaud Mr. Hunt’s creativity in using the term “goveritos” when referring to his students.

   As I was writing this blog post, this one core memory came back and still sticks with me to this day. Back in 4th grade when I visited a friend’s house after school, I was excitedly talking about my day, going on and on, when my mom overheard and scolded me in Vietnamese, "A girl shouldn’t be talking so much—it’s giving everyone a headache." Her words sounded much harsher in our native tongue, and I remember fighting back tears at the time, knowing that fighting back using my words would only get me into more trouble. But looking back, I realize that, much like how Mr. Robertson said he was toughened up, I too was shaped by this particular experience.

    Growing up in a bilingual household, switching languages also meant switching cultures, yet gender roles remained the same. Vietnamese, like many languages, has built-in gendered expectations. The way I speak in Vietnamese has to sound mature and respectful. English, on the other hand, feels more flexible and casual. Now that I am older and occasionally swear around my family, I am much more likely to get away with swearing in English rather than Vietnamese. But as the oldest sibling, I will still always get in trouble for “teaching” my younger brothers bad language and behavior.

    I also took the time to look back at my own writing and realized that in most of my personal essays, the word or idea of community was always present in some way. I’ve always found it difficult to write solely about myself and maybe it can be attributed to my personality, but after this week’s presentation, I began to wonder—maybe I have been reinforced too much to write like a "girl."