Amanda

** Gender Then and Now ** It’s obvious that gender and how people are treated based on their gender is different, and a lot of the time, boys do different things that girls. It may seem not so great now, but it used to be worse. My parents grew up in the 70’s, and through interviewing them, I found a lot of information on how gender roles have changed over time. My mom was born in 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Dix Hills on Long Island when she was two, and lived there her whole childhood. Her favorite subjects in school were English, Social Studies and Spanish. On the weekends, especially with her friends, she liked to put on plays (when she was younger), take tennis lessons, go ice-skating, skiing and and swimming. After school, she took tennis, swimming and dance, and was in Brownies in Elementary School. My mom has a brother who is three years younger. He played more sports than her, such as baseball and soccer. His favorite subjects in school were Math and Social Studies. She said these weren’t exactly gender-specific, but her and her brother liked to do different things, which probably had something to do with gender, and what their friends of their same gender did, however, my grandparents did not just make them do certain things because they were girls or boys. My mom says she was friends with more girls than boys in school, but had many friends that were boys as well. My dad was also born in 1966, in Great Neck, Long Island. He lived there for his entire childhood. His favorite subjects in school were Social Studies and Science. After school and on the weekends, my dad played tennis, ran track, played soccer, baseball and basketball, rode his bike and walked his dog. My dad has a sister who is two years older. Her favorite subjects were Social Studies and English. She liked swimming and tennis and spent a lot of time with her friends. My dad hung out more with boys, especially when he was in Elementary School and early Middle School. He agreed that boys did better in Science and Math, in general, and girls did better in English and Social Studies. Both of my parents’ mother’s did not work while they were growing up, but their fathers did. My mom’s dad owned a textile company in the Garment Center in New York City. He had a mix of men and women working for him, about the same amount. My dad’s dad owned an office supply company, also in Manhattan. He had more men working for him. My dads’ stepfather was a hairdresser and owned salons in New York City, and on Long Island. He had more women working for him, but it was definitely a mix. When asked about gender stereotypes now and then, both of my parents agreed that when they were growing up, the world was much more gender specific than it is now. They said that there are definitely more women in the workplace today, and more women with big jobs. There are also more men and women doing the same jobs, which is very different from their childhood. For example, the owner of the Real Estate Company where my grandmother works, which has thousands of employees, is owned by a woman. My parents did not thing that would have been the case when they were growing up. After listening to my parents compare gender stereotypes and how people portray gender in society, from their childhood to now, I realized how far along we’ve come. Hearing them say how many more women work nowadays, and how much bigger there jobs are, makes me realize how hard it was for women back then. Even if she wanted one, my grandma couldn’t really get a good, high-paying job. Comparing gender roles now and then it makes me realize, that as a female, I can still have the same opportunities as males. This also makes me realize how lucky I am to live in a world where women are not as stereotyped as lazy people who just stay home and do nothing all day. It lets me know that anything is possible, and women can do anything men can do.
 * SECOND DRAFT**

**First draft comments**: Good essay. i feel like you could put in A LOT more detail in the beginning of your mother's life. Also use the anecdote to push your idea into the reader's head. ~ Signore Valenti

An amazing essay! I think you have a lot of examples, but don't explain them enough. All of your examples are really good, but you should try to explain them more to make your essay even better. -Allie

Really great idea, and strong start, now build on this! Great job! -Cooper

Amazing job Amanda!!! :) The title was really good and you had a lot of context and examples but you could expand it more. - Carolyn

yes yes quite.... a quite good essay if i dooo say so myselffff. but one thing you should work on would be to actually have more detail on your mother and father. let them give you some examples of sexism that theyn have experienced. ~Signior Valenti

I loved it! I really liked your introduction. I think you have a little too much background information throughout the essay. -Allie

This is really good!!! :) Your background information really relates to your context and I like your introduction and conclusion, it tied everything together really well!!! - Carolyn :)