I use this picture to display a grand narrative in my life not because I’m a dedicated Packer’s fan- that would be a lie. No, the reason that preschool-aged Bethany has her face painted green and yellow (it’s hard to see in the picture) and gets to eat a delicious and beautifully frosted cake is because it was the Super Bowl and I grew up as the only daughter in my family. My mom was not much of a “girly-girl” either, so my family went to Twins games, spent summer vacation tenting out at national parks, and had football parties for teams we were not even remotely invested in. Had I grown up in a family with three sisters, I believe that I would have been completely different from who I am today.
I always say that I function emotionally more as a guy would than most of my friends. I tend to be more upfront than most girls I know. I would take a Will Ferrel movie over The Notebook any day of the week. Yes, I still straighten my hair and love shoes, but I can only rant about the horrible thing someone’s boyfriend did for so long with my friends before I go insane. I would much rather brush off a mistake a friend made than dwell on it for weeks to come and am often confused by how long grudges are held for- what seem to me, at least- the strangest things. In this way, I am sometimes told that I react as if a male would.
This summer I decided to go camping with a couple of my friends before we left for our separate college experiences. When I say camping, I would like to point out that we drove about 45 minutes to a state park with the fire ring and flat tent spot already intact. Also, there were bathrooms within fifty yards of us with running water and showers. This was by nobody’s definition “roughing it.” Watching my friends struggle to accept that there would be dirt on their pillows and bugs in the tent was funnier than any reality show I could have watched had I stayed home. Now I am not saying that I would eat a bug like Bear Grylls or anything, but I also don’t run and scream when there’s a spider on the wall.
My value, interests, and habits have all been shaped by the structure of my family.
I like this. You point out how specific gender roles are percieved in society and how you go against them. I've met plenty of girls myself that seem to be into more masculine activities than I am, but I've never taken them to be a man, mostly I think I just accept them. I also think it is funny and sad that women are seen as the only people who hold petty grudges, it feels like it'd be too dishonorable of a thing for a male to do, but I've met plenty of petty men as well as women. I think the typical perception of how gender should make us act is pretty obviously flawed with even simple observation, but it is clearly continued through society.
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