Gender Socialization

Gender socialization is a process that I have been familiar for a very long time. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where football knowledge and the Steelers in particular, is a must. I also grew up four boys (two younger brothers and two friends of the family who I call my older “brothers”). So naturally, when the boys were all playing with G.I. Joes and Ninja Turtles, I did not want to be playing with Barbie. When the boys were watching football, I did not want to be having a tea party with my dolls. I was considered one of the boys and that is the way I liked it. I’m pretty sure I even thought I was a boy at one point, just with longer hair. My parents never pushed me to play with “girl toys”, in fact, they probably liked that they only had to go down one isle at the toy store.

It wasn’t until fourth or fifth grade when I started to noticed that I was dressing more like a boy than a girl; wearing the longer gym shorts and Nike t-shirts, with my knees always cut up from sliding into first base. This was around the same time that my older brothers started to be interested in girls and did not have much time for me and my tomboy ways. Slowly throughout middle school I began to transform my wardrobe and self into something that resembled a girl, while realizing that I could still talk about football and hang with the boys without looking like one.

My brothers have definitely had the biggest influence on the way I view of gender socialization, and I am happy that it happened. The way I see it, I got the best of both worlds and I would not want it any other way.