20 Ways I Have Been Gendered
1. Being given toys that involve gender roles (Toy soldiers, playing cops and robbers, star wars action figures)
These toys helped me re-enact male identified roles in the military, and behave like male identified characters in movies. I was given toys which had body types anatomically similar to my sex assigned at birth. I used these to practice how I was supposed to behave based on societies prescribed gender characteristics.
2. Being told what I could wear and that clothing being of masculine color and style.
Rather than being given the option of what I wanted to wear growing up, my clothing was purchased for me at second hand stores and typically were of masculine color and style. I was given polo shirts, …show more content…
My dad would take my brother and I canoeing and fishing.
Since my dad was performing his gender of male, he taught my brother and I how to be male as well. He did this by taking us out doing activities that he did as a young boy such as canoeing and fishing. This served to further teach me what activities boys did and asserted my existence as a boy in the world.
10. Being given male haircuts
Growing up I had very long blonde curly hair when I was little. As soon as I started getting haircuts I did not know what I wanted my hair to look like, so the hair stylist gave me a very typical short "boy" haircut, and that is how I have continued to cut my hair since. This was just another way that I had gender done to me and I continued to do it as behavior I deemed as normal.
11. Having my sex assigned to me at birth.
This is a very obvious one but this is the beginning of it all in my case. I was assigned the sex of boy and so I was put in the boy NICU unit, I was given small blue clothing and a blue hat. The minute I came out the womb I was being gendered and people talked to me differently than they might have if I was in pink clothing and sexed a girl.
12. Being bullied for being skinny and lean (ectomorph) and not being muscular and
1. Being given toys that involve gender roles (Toy soldiers, playing cops and robbers, star wars action figures)
These toys helped me re-enact male identified roles in the military, and behave like male identified characters in movies. I was given toys which had body types anatomically similar to my sex assigned at birth. I used these to practice how I was supposed to behave based on societies prescribed gender characteristics.
2. Being told what I could wear and that clothing being of masculine color and style.
Rather than being given the option of what I wanted to wear growing up, my clothing was purchased for me at second hand stores and typically were of masculine color and style. I was given polo shirts, …show more content…
My dad would take my brother and I canoeing and fishing.
Since my dad was performing his gender of male, he taught my brother and I how to be male as well. He did this by taking us out doing activities that he did as a young boy such as canoeing and fishing. This served to further teach me what activities boys did and asserted my existence as a boy in the world.
10. Being given male haircuts
Growing up I had very long blonde curly hair when I was little. As soon as I started getting haircuts I did not know what I wanted my hair to look like, so the hair stylist gave me a very typical short "boy" haircut, and that is how I have continued to cut my hair since. This was just another way that I had gender done to me and I continued to do it as behavior I deemed as normal.
11. Having my sex assigned to me at birth.
This is a very obvious one but this is the beginning of it all in my case. I was assigned the sex of boy and so I was put in the boy NICU unit, I was given small blue clothing and a blue hat. The minute I came out the womb I was being gendered and people talked to me differently than they might have if I was in pink clothing and sexed a girl.
12. Being bullied for being skinny and lean (ectomorph) and not being muscular and