Socialization and Gender Roles

I enrolled in the Gender and Communication class for the Spring semester of 2011 at Metro State College of Denver because I am curious to learn more about how we communicate with one another.  More specifically, I desire to learn ways in which we can have more open, effective communication with each other in order to make life in general a more fulfilling and satisfying experience.  Why not try to make the most of things?  This blog is a requirement for my Gender and Communication class, and I assume that part of the reason it is necessary is so I can reflect on lessons in order to strengthen my understanding of the subject at hand.  Hopefully, this will provide an avenue for others to learn as well.  Beginning February 11th, I will be working with the non-profit organization known as Smart-Girl.  I imagine that this work will contribute greatly to this blog.

Our class was asked to provide an example of both one of our earliest interactions and a recent interaction that communicated to us expectations about our gender.  My grandmother is a very important person in my life, and one of my first experiences regarding gender roles involves her explanations to me of things that were and were not very "lady-like".  As a young child, I was told that I should never use any words that could be even remotely mistaken as vulgarity.  I specifically remember my grandmother telling me that when I needed to use the restroom, the "lady-like" way to explain this was to tell someone that "I needed to tinkle".  Of course, she also explained that I should always cross my legs anytime I wore a dress.

My recent interactions that have communicated my gender role to me are those regarding children.  When I explain that I am uncertain about having children for some legitimate reasons, people generally give me weird looks as though they do not understand my reservations.  Furthermore, I have also been dismissed by some close friends when I mention this issue, and I am told that I will eventually change my mind.  Perhaps I will decide at some time that I desire to have a child, but it certainly feels as though people may sometimes assume that my "biological clock" just has not started ticking.  It is not that I do not like children; I adore them.  However, I do not want to make such an important decision simply based off of societal expectations.

Signing off for now.