Gender Role Trauma: Conquering Expectations

Jaclynn Kato

06. Sept. 2011

RD1

Gender Role Trauma: Conquering Expectations

“With the onset of adolescence, children are faced with a multitude of gender-related issues. In addition to dealing with physical and emotional changes, many adolescents must try to adapt to shifting social roles (347).” Mary Pipher states this is in her article “Saplings in the Storm.” According to Pipher, she believes that between adolescence and menopause, women experience trauma in adjusting to their gender roles. [THESIS] Women may experience trauma during adolescence due to gender role expectations, but this trauma is not permanent and does not need to last until menopause [THESIS].

The definition of trauma, as stated by Robert Gornichec in our ENG 215 Laulima discussion, is “trauma can be defined in two ways, through pathology or psychiatry. In pathology it would be described as a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident. In psychiatry it would be an experience that produces psychological injury or pain.” The type of trauma that women experience during their adolescent years is psychological.

I think that society’s gender expectations start from birth. Society always associated the color blue with boys and pink for girls. As children it was normal for girls to play dress-up with dolls, but it would be frowned upon if a boy participated in that kind of playing. The gender outlook during young childhood is not as noticeable. Girls play sports outside with boys, and both genders would help their mom with the housework. Those types of things seem normal at that age. Something changes when children get older and reach a certain age. Certain expectations are put on young adults. For example, it would seem abnormal for girls to put on football gear and play games, while boys put on cheerleading outfits. Girls are expected to act more feminine and ladylike when they hit adolescence.

From my personal experience during my adolescent years, I was confused. When my brother and I were growing up, he was interested in cooking, band, and choir, while I was interested in playing basketball, volleyball and learning about cars. For years my brother and I felt like we were not living up to expectations. I would look at magazines, and other girls my age that would dress up in “girly” clothes and wear make-up while I was more comfortable wearing a plain shirt and shorts leaving my hair up in a plain ponytail. I was more comfortable hanging out with boys because I felt like I had nothing in common with the girls in my class. As a girl, I felt like I needed to change some of the things that I liked about myself in order to make me feel like a normal girl in society.

“Adolescence has always been hard, but it’s harder now because of cultural changes in the last decade (354).” There are many different issues in society that have an affect on the gender role trauma. I do not agree with my classmate’s opinion about the solution to this particular problem. Datmagurun stated in our Laulima discussion that the “Solution: Plain and simple, change media’s set standards and we will then again fall in line.” One of the most interesting questions that I found while researching about gender issues in the media was “But do we blame the commercials for creating these social standards, or do we blame our social standards for creating these commercials? Social evolution does not occur spontaneously, and as changes eventually do begin to take place, there is usually some factor responsible for the development.” The author of the article “Gender Roles and the Media” was unknown, but the information and examples of how media affects society is very relevant. “As the media continues to represent men in advertisements more than women, our society continues to respect and represent men more than women in every aspect of our daily lives.” Although media plays a vital role in how our society thinks and views gender roles, this is not the only factor that children are exposed to. Graydon and Verrall state in their article “Gender Issues in the Media” that “Although the media is a pervasive and profoundly influential socializing force, parents and teachers can make a difference. Young children are especially vulnerable to the teachings of media because they don't have the critical capacity necessary to distinguish between fantasy and reality, to identify persuasive intent, or to understand irony and disregard stereotypes.”

At the end of “Saplings in the Storm” Pipher quotes an African saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” I am not only influenced by the media, I also have people who play crucial roles in my life. My parents never made my brother or I feel unusual about the activities we enjoyed. My father knew I liked sports so he taught me how to play basketball, volleyball and football, and to this day we still watch sports together. Both of my parents only have female siblings, and all of them have encouraged me to have my own independence and how to be able to care for myself. The friends that I have made, both males and females, do not like me because I am a “typical girl”, but because we share the same interests. The psychologist that I went to helped me work through my traumatic experiences as an individual. All of these people in my life have an important influence on how I think and act. My trauma that I had as an adolescent is not existent anymore.

Works Cited

Datmagurun, John. “Causes and Solution.” Online posting 3 Sept. 2011. Laulima Discussion. 6 Sept. 2011.

[https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.210210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e]

“Gender Roles and the Media.” 6 Sept. 2011. [http://www.inforefuge.com/gender-roles-media]

Graydon, Shari and Verrall, Elizabeth. “Gender Issues in the Media.” 6 Sept. 2011. [http://www.etfo.ca/Resources/ForTeachers/Documents/Gender%20Issues%20in%20The%20Media.aspx]

Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. 7^th Edition. Eds. Goshgarian, Gary and Krueger, Kathleen. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2011. 347-354.