I grew up in a family of females, raised by a single mother with three sisters. Most of my friends growing up were females, because I was used to interacting with females at home. I learned about male identity and masculine expression through public schooling, but it was never really a part of my life. I was never into 'boy things' like sports and fishing, and I still wouldn't be able to explain how football works. As I read Elizabeth's Mitchell's chapter on her home experiences, I was reminded of my own childhood experiences.
Our stories are much different, of course. She's a female, I'm not. Not only that, but her family influenced her to serve and live a 'traditional' female life. As she left home, she broke away from that and explored her own feminine identity. In this sense, I find a commonality. Although I wasn't raised as a female nor was I pressured to enjoy feminine things, it came naturally as my surroundings were all females. I still found enjoyment in 'boy things' like video games, but I always felt more connected to females. My high school friends were mostly girls, except for the few male friends I had through choir and other activities.
When I came to college, a lot of this changed. I still had some girl friends, but not as many. I met more males and had more male friends, and now as I think about it, I notice that lately I have been expressing more masculine characteristics. Mitchell talks about her "search for a feminist self". This is somewhat political, and still outside something that I could experience, but I still see it as an identity search and an identity exploration. She feels a need to over-express herself and over-do certain actions to regain power or prove her ability and competence. This is something that I relate to, as another gender. I can relate this to Foucalt's ideas on power. Although I am male (which should allow me to 'hold' more power), I make extra efforts sometimes to prove masculinity through my expression.
Clearly, our unique upbringings and socialization experiences are different for everyone. The person that we become, I believe, is crafted through our interactions with others and how we feel about ourselves among others. This has been true for me. With that being said, I have to wonder, how do we encourage children to explore gender at a younger age? Is that too confusing for a child? Is it right?
