Light


14 years old,
a child to behold,
as well as the rest of my life,


35 weeks later,
and suddenly,
I was a creator.


5 pounds,
1 ounce,
a miracle I held in my arms,
for the very first time.


Bullied.


Doubted.


I never once thought,
I would be who I am today.


A mother.


A graduate.


Light has shun,
down,
 a dark,
dreary,
terrifying
path.


A path that is my life.


I have now seen the light,
of where I need to go.


Because of this light,
there is not a place,
I will seize to go.

CC 3.2 Will Boys Be "Boys"?

As the world continues to become more open minded, people are breaking tradition for the better. Gender roles have somewhat of a bubble effect on society. What someone thinks of another basically puts them into a bubble so they are not singled out, or judged; however, society is changing. Not only adults, and adolescents are becoming more open-minded, but children also.

New York Times Boys Will Be Boys? Not In These Families, tells about a male toddler named Harry who "selects a dress from the costume box and wears it through recess, even as he scrambles on the jungle gym." Harry is a little boy who enjoys playing with Barbies, and enjoys playing dress up. Every day he makes sure his Barbies are properly dressed, and plays with them. At school, he plays on the playground in pink tutus and princess dresses.

As Harry began to start taking interest in these things, "Harry's father had a hard time watching his son twirl around in princess wear." Harry, a male, should like sports, or monster trucks, or something that boys would generally like, according to his father. Gender roles and tradition have limited Harry's fathers variety of interests.

Since Harry is 3 1/2, he has not grown up with these traditions, knowing what boys like, or what girls like. He just knows what he likes, which lead to a gift from his father "a sparkly princess Barbie doll". When Harry opened the bag, he reacted with a joyous gasp. His gift of the Barbie doll symbolized acceptance. His father said, "We are following his lead and supporting him for who he wants to be." 

For my sons birthday, we let him go into the store and choose his own cupcakes. All but one set of cupcakes were "for boys". They had darker colored icing, and rings with Batman, and Cars. But the one set my son Camden decided to choose was the one with pink and yellow icing, with Disney Princess rings. After reading this article, I feel remorse for not letting my son have these cupcakes for his birthday due to worry about what my family, and friends at his party would think. 

Gender roles hold people back from being who they want to be. Also, make parents make decisions that they may end up feeling remorseful of in the future.

CC 3.1 Gender Roles in Parenting

Traditionally, parents have always been known as the sweet loving mother, and the gruff and fun father. These personas are influenced by gender roles; however, this is not how every mother and father parent. Everyone is different.

Because females are known to be kind, loving, and gentle, they are more fit for emotional nourishing a child. Males are known to be ruff and gruff, yet fun and energetic. These traits make them more fit for discipline, and horseplay. According to To What Extent is Parenting Influenced by Gender Roles, paragraph one, line three, a "gruff daddy just might place a magic kiss on his daughters knee when no one else is looking", instead of telling her to shake it off. Females and males often share traits that would stereotypically be traits the opposite gender should hold. Gender roles have a great influence on parenting techniques; however, mothers are capable of letting themselves become a mother bear; fierce, protective, and gruff, just as fathers are capable of being a big teddy bear; soft, loving, and cuddly.

When bonding with a child, gender roles have a great affect on how one chooses how to bond with their little ones. The last line of paragraph three claims that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says "87 percent of moms and 73 percent of dads report showing their children affection daily". Mothers being more feminine, often choose activities that require close contact such as; snuggling up and reading a book. Fathers are more masculine prefer activities such as tossing a football, or outdoor activities. While doing outdoor activities, there are not many chances for affection to be shown. Instead of cuddling up with a warm fuzzy blanket, and "I love you", fathers tend to give a pat on the back, and "good job". However, some mothers like to toss footballs, and some fathers like to snuggle up and read a book. 

Also, learning to communicate from a parent greatly impacts the way a child grows as a person. In paragraph four, sentence four, the author claims that "fathers play a critical role in their children entering successful, happy relationships". Children learn what their parents model. Mothers are more positive, calm, and nonverbal; giving smiles and snuggles. This teaches children to be positive and nice to others, benefiting them in being able to make friends, and find partners in the future. Fathers are more blunt and straight forward, helping them learn how to be assertive, and honest. This benefits them build confidence against possible bullies at school and to have a backbone. 

Being a mother of a son, I know that gender does not limit you of activities, or abilities. Although making mud pies is not a hobby of mine, my son loves it. Anything that makes him happy, I will do. Just because I am female does not mean I cannot make mud pies, toss the football, or play with trucks and tractors. 

Stereotypes and traditions often make people think that they are limited in parenthood, and often affects their children. Happiness is what is most important for a child, and the parent. Gender roles are sometimes good, but can also complicate ways of teaching and thinking.