Gender Roles

Sailor defines gender as a way "to describe role identity and behavior of males and females (p. 59). My gender role as a female enhances my options in life in many ways. Many of the traits I see in myself are discussed by Sailor. She states that "girls have greater verbal skills," are more highly motivated to achieve, and are nurturing (p.59). Given that as a female my verbal skills are well honed, I believe I have more options in a working class society. I am more likely to do well at interviews and in communications with my co-workers. My verbal abilities will allow me to be very successful in my career as an educator. I am able to converse with parents as easily and my boss because of this skill. Being nurturing also enhances my ability to work with young children, as I can always find a way to make them feel good. This also adds to my role as a wife. I am able to nurture my husband when he feels down and this always helps to strengthen our marriage. I am a woman whose gender role can always help me to find the right words, present them in a nurturing way, and use my self motivation to motivate others.

My gender role can also limit my options. Sailor states that boys tend to have a better sense of spatial and visual relationships, are more sociable and aggressive. She gave an example of boys being given toys that enhance these skills at a young age (pp. 59-60). As a child I was given your typical girl toys like dolls, kitchens, and dress-up materials. My ability to determine spatial and visual relationships is definitely weak. I have very little hand-eye coordination. As a result, a career as a highly paid computer technician or a professional athlete is out of the question. This also affects my social interactions as I do not feel comfortable participating in any team sports, such as bowling or soccer.

I can be very nurturing, but I am not as competent in being social with people I do not know. From what I've seen, most men can spark up a conversation with anyone. I, however, cannot. My lack of aggressiveness can also affect my ability to stand up for myself in work situations. However, as a female, I am highly motivated and can generally figure out a non-aggressive way to handle situations. Overall, I am thankful for my gender role.

References

Sailor, D. (2004). Supporting children in their home, school, and community. Boston: Pearson Education.