Alice

Do People Gain Gender Roles as they get Older?

“When I was growing up, the men did not do anything. My mother, my aunts, and my grandmother did all the housework. . . gender roles have changed very much.” In Penang (or Georgetown), Malaysia, apparently this was the norm. The men earned the money and came back after a hard day’s work to a home where there would be a cool shower running and a hot dinner waiting on the table, and women and children buzzing around apologetically.

My father was lived with his siblings, his parents, his aunts and uncles and their families, and his grandmother. He was raised almost all of the time by his grandmother and mother. Gender roles in his generation and in his childhood home were very defined. The men were the breadwinners and the women were the housekeepers and raised the children. When does a girl become a woman and a boy become a man and the gender roles begin?

Even nowadays, when women are working more, people think of men when they think of bankers and lawyers and doctors, and women as nurses or teachers. The women have the “soft” jobs and the men are strong and tough and protect everybody. When people were younger, like girls and boys, the gender roles weren’t always so defined, but when do you become a man or woman do you wake up one day and you’re instantly a perfect stereo-type of gender roles?

When my father was in Penang, he went to a Catholic all-boys school run by missionaries, while his sisters went to a convent school. Whenever the boys’ and girls’ schools joined together for some school event everybody felt quite awkward with each other, and nobody knew how to approach the opposite gender, which to them was some unknown species. However, boys and girls were very similar when my father grew up. He explained that girls and boys did all the same sports, like badminton, table tennis, volleyball, just separately, because the same things were encouraged for both girls and boys alike. It wasn’t until they were grown-up and became men and women that gender roles began to be noticeable.

If society hadn’t expected everyone to conform, would men and women always assume the gender roles they were expected to have? Are the terms “men” and “women” ultimately defined by gender roles? A girl can be a tomboy but can a woman be as well? Or is becoming an adult assuming a gender role? When the gender roles as children were so faint and the gender roles as adults were so strong in Penang, it seemed as if gender roles developed with age.

Sophie - Hey Alice! I really liked this but you said gender roles a lot.

I liked how you started with a quote. lots of telling, needs more showing. -Juliet

Ray- I liked your intro but I thought the title could be more interesting and you could insert a story. Also, I didn't get the word "apologetically" in the first paragraph.

2nd Draft

“When I was growing up, the men did not do anything. My mother, my aunts, and my grandmother did all the housework. . . gender roles have changed very much.” In Penang (or Georgetown), Malaysia, apparently this was the norm. The men earned the money and came back after a hard day’s work to a home where there would be a cool shower running and a hot dinner waiting on the table, and women and children bobbing around their heels. //It was a hot day in Penang, like always on the tropical island off the mainland of Malaysia. Three men entered the house together. They fanned themselves. It was a hot, sticky day, and the air was still and warm. There was a flurry of excitement in the house, and a few children darted around the bookcase and back into their rooms. Old grandmother was sitting on the sofa and she got up and followed weakly into the childrens' room to sit on their mattress and watch over them. Two of the wives began to set plates out on the table while one woman turned on the faucet in the bathroom. After a cool shower, the men returned into the empty kitchen, rolled up their sleeves, and began eating. " How was your day?" //

My father was lived with his siblings, his parents, his aunts and uncles and their families, and his grandmother. He was raised almost all of the time by his grandmother and mother. Gender roles in his generation and in his childhood home were very defined. The men were the breadwinners and the women were the housekeepers and raised the children. Even nowadays, when women are working more, people think of men when they think of bankers and lawyers and doctors, and women as nurses or teachers. The women have the “soft” jobs and the men are strong and tough and protect everybody. When people were younger, like girls and boys, the gender roles weren’t always so defined, but when do you become a man or woman do you wake up one day and you’re instantly a perfect stereo-type of gender roles? When my father was in Penang, he went to a Catholic all-boys school run by missionaries, while his sisters went to a convent school. Whenever the boys’ and girls’ schools joined together for some school event everybody felt totally awkward with each other, and nobody knew how to approach the opposite gender, which to them was some unknown species. However, boys and girls were very similar when my father grew up. He explained that girls and boys did all the same sports, like badminton, table tennis, volleyball, just separately, because the same things were encouraged for both girls and boys alike. It wasn’t until they were grown-up and became men and women that gender roles began to be noticeable. If society hadn’t expected everyone to conform, would men and women always assume the gender roles they were expected to have? Are the terms “men” and “women” ultimately defined by gender roles? A girl can be a tomboy but can a woman be as well? Or is becoming an adult assuming a gender role? When the gender roles as children were so faint and the gender roles as adults were so strong in Penang, it seemed as if gender roles developed with age.

I mportant to know who says this--the women to the men, I'm guessing, because they take more of an interest? Ray-I liked your context and how you inserted a story in the middle to prove your points. You could improve your transitions a bit.