Heterosexual,
Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual? SO WHAT.
We
had an activity wherein we were tasked to draw our image of how we perceive
heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. We all have
our preconceptions and misconceptions of how they are and often times have
issues or a lot of comments on what they look like and how they act.
The
activity made me realize stereotypes are not only found in schools (i.e. Geeks,
jocks, popular kids and what not...) it’s found also in the society we live in.
I guess in earlier years homosexuality was a big issue; being a conservative
country we wanted to preserve the image of girls being Maria Clara like and
boys being the macho working selves they should be. Times have changed and so
has our society. We are slowly accepting that there are some people who deviate
from the prescribed norm and that has come to understand that they are not like
the rest. Personally, don’t have any problems with them. If that’s how they
want to be, so let it be. In my opinion as long as they are not hurting anyone
and that makes then happy, then go J
To
be honest, some homosexual individuals are even more successful than the
heterosexual ones ;) it just goes to show that whatever gender you may prefer
it doesn't matter (well, sometimes it does) but it should never hinder you in
achieving greater things in life J
INTERVIEW
Age: 49 Occupation: Employee
Sex: Female
Interviewer: How were you expected to live
your life as a female?
Respondent: As a toddler you were not
supposed to scratch when something is itchy because you’ll get scars from it.
Girls should always be flawless.
Girls
should not be rowdy (run, roam around) they are supposed to be quiet and sit
properly and lady like. Girls should also play with girly toys not tex and
other boyish toys. We were also expected to excel better academically than
boys.
During
the teenage years, we were expected to help with household chores, take care of
children, go to the market and clean the house. We were always expected to be
mahinhin and not shout. Girls then were also not supposed to go out, that was
what boys did. Instead we were supposed to stay at home and help with household
related things. It was okay for boys to have barkada’s then but for girls it
wasn’t the norm.
Girls
were also expected to have long hair either braided or in a ponytail. They were
also expected to wear skirts and wear belo’s and a white dress whenever going
to church. Most importantly they were expected to behave appropriately in
school, at home, with friends, family, and work and in relation to the opposite
sex.
Your
gender usually dictated the games you play, your hobbies, your routine, etc..
Interviewer: Did you conform to these
expectations?
Yes,
of course.
COMPARE
AND CONTRAST
Asking my mother the expected
attributes of a young lady in the 60’s-70’s made me realize that based from how
I behaved as a young girl I would not even pass as one. *laughs* I always
shouted, always moved around and about, I didn't like wearing hair clips, didn't brush my hair, didn't like taking a bath although I played with dolls; my
friends would always ask me to go out with them and play on the streets. I
guess if you compare me to how my mother was when she was young; one can say
that we were opposites. My mother was the type who always read books and went
to the library as a hobby. I rarely read books and every time I had free time I
would go out and play. I even have a scar on my right hand as a remembrance of
how much adventure I had as a child.
As
years go by, norms change and somehow we are starting to be more liberal. We
are starting to be more accepting of change and are deviating from what older
folks would deem proper and traditional. In my opinion, change may either have
a positive and negative effect on us. Positive in the sense that we gain new
experiences through new events on the other hand we sometimes forget our roots,
tradition and culture.
The
norms and our society will continue to change through the years and I guess as
cliché and as overused as it may sound it’s up to the present generation to
make an effort to preserve our historical roots and pass it on to the next
generation to come.
