Apri ivia. 1 i a Maki 1 Taylor Maki Professor Cont Ditsh } English 115 . 4 Oetber2017/ > / / ‘Shifts in Gender Performance; People and Places | was form and raised in southern California, and my sex is fle and identify my ‘gender as ‘optic = gl. I've always loved all the “girly things” like dolls and pink, birthday tea partes and ofcourse all he Disney princess ooked up 1 Bellen 0 maay ways. She was beautiful and cou sng like al the her princesses. However, che a quality I din erm to appreciate uni | was about 7 years ol she had enormous courage an bravery but also a fving hear. She was a female cheraeter, who with many feminine atrbutes, also has a more masculine ~ brave side as-well as a deep thirst for knowledge and reading, Ste has inspired me tobe wh | ‘am today; I consider myself to be a strong, independent ligent and a compassionate Woman, ‘Whete perform more masculine or feminine varies bgcause of where Iam, but even: mpi so My frst example ofthis is my home fe. At my home, ve wih my Mosher and Father inthe city of Moorpark. One| entered junior hh my brother lef for eollege: it was jst me and my parents. T've gone to chareh al ry fe with my family and am sill very religious by my ‘om choosing, My iain and upbringing has both taught me to respoet my elders and Specially my pares asin the bible the fifth commandment sates “Thou shalthona thy Ether aud thy mater”. (Exodus 20: 1-17) My parents playa. vey important role in my ie and ook up to them, My respect forth leads me towards feminine perfomance: ery gue, always \ ‘ { tl stn HY 9 \Maki2 .~' | listening to them and ne disrespect, I have always been very quiet espeeially with my parents, N ‘Even though a feminine performance may seem like x negative tat, respect For elders and superiots is crucial, No one likes when their authority is questioned or when respect is not given / “when nestled, These lessons | have Leamed have helped me develop into.a wellerounded person. / Unfortunately, many til do tenet he nyponanes of enpestng authority and elder/ | My home life docs not greatly differ fram my school life, however I find myself using iy voice, Sil earrying thal respect for my’ elders, superiors and teachers, and also being able 10 have a confident conversation with them shows well roundedness. In Kantrowitz and Wingen’s pisos, “Are we Facing a Gendssless Puture?”, they state that is impossible for everyone on arth to be “eategorized into (vo groups”. (71) Going to an all-girls high school is what helped me grow into my voice. Without the pressure from gutys presence, Iwas able to make mistakes and not sare if as wrong in my answers in class. was able to come to school and not have my appearance be my first priority, not getting any man’s atention, With these distractions gone T is Gloria Anzaldua’s as more focused and thrived in my environment, Something I relate to this piece “How to ata Wild Tongue”, because she speaks about being a young girl and scolded fortalking back to her elders while her brother vas not. It was socially acceptable for him go speak up and question authority but she however, was considered nude, disrespectful and O unladylike: I ean relate to this myself being raise by parcats who did nat allow me to ialk backs /°) p/ ‘Therefor high school changed my perspective and boosted my confidence to who Tarasoday. It I JM I On changed my performance from more feminine to masculine, This is important to considerMaki 3 1 ‘Dus to my high school education, [ am outspoken and strong mineed. This also effects my work as well, When going inip my interview for my current job [thoroughly impressed my general manager. Myself, being ah 18-yearvoldl who had no work experience yet spoke like a professional and easily engaged ‘hod, bistese-tke convenaiions Beingraisedinavery | manure family aad bing the ovo|geat gave me. eg up, not to mention my education. Over a year late, today t work very well with my coworkers, especially when in a masculine leadership | position which I just recently got promoted! to. T¥ee1 I work best in dis now position and so fur, | love it Starting out in the lower position, {know when I'm asking for 190 much and U know how it feels when the filler, now me, is siressed and allows itto get the better of them. Bad vibes ripple throughout the whole establishment. feel like how I handle stress at work and how 1 ‘ar ‘manage the situation really shows to my matiagers and they always love working with me, Servers and bussers always comment how I keep everything smooth and it-fels amazing Lo be ‘widely appreciated. Womea should be strong in the work place and make their presence known, | A-woman with a masculine work ethic in most cases will be noticed and respected like I have, | An aspeet of my life that is independent ofthe others is dance. It is a world all its own, | and is Very significant t9 me. | wet aecording to whatis expected; silent, attentive, not joking and\ "oN very serious, a very feminine and demure performance. That is what my studio's work ethic i, and it demands complete tespéct. Lolways stay as foews as possible andl work as hard as possible, | My dance classes are very intense and I usually fiad myself" under @ lot of pressure to perform. We only have one boy'at the studio and he is not yelled at as much, cither because he is « boy and my teacher plays favorites or he is just that good. He dances very well but itseems my teachers has a sofl stop for male dancers rather than the dazens of female dancers she has. This //\ ems unfaie to many but Thave seen this is many different forms of dance 50 naturally 1 thiMaki nothing oft know men are under just as much pressure to perform well as women, but they soci to get better treatment than girls, at leat in my studio. The dance world is very sexist depending on where you facus. In many aspects, it objecifies women by costumes, hair, make up, even the routines are different from men’s beeause some steps are considered masculine or feminine, From my observations, my overall performance is masculine, I have always assumed iyself as very feminine and only sometimes masculine, Now that Ihave broken dawn my daily activities I realized Tam stranger and more maseoline than I antieipated. My work, school, and ‘even partially my home life is mostly dominated by masculine actions and choice of speech. Because of this I am stronger and more independent as # person which has lead me to many successes, Being feminine is nota bed thing, but being too feminine does not make you stand out ‘as a person and can restrice from your full potential. Gender psrformanes varies depending on the individual, To me, itis something I have leamed over years of experiences and lessons not easily Jeamed, My successes today are from performing masculine and feminine, but also balancing the 196,Maki 5 Works Cited ‘The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testiments ; Translated out of the Original “Tongues and with the Foner Transitions Diligeatly Compared and Revised. American Bible Soctety, 19%6. Groner, Rachel, and John F. O/Haea, Composing Gender: a Bedford Spottight Reader, BeaifondSt. Martin's, 2014, ekfestAdeninsnatie | os 1 1 Pale Sao argent [ere maSh [hae EamE eH [Taare phe |Temeraenaiine [ene hse Tigmonnacon, (setemertsaeierty|arransprty aoe |maprmetars uavenes, |ausnar. 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