Challenging My Story Essay Examples

Gender stereotypes are typically characterized as to the sex of an individual and also “are generalizations about the roles of each gender” (healthguidance.org). Typically, women are thought to be the caretakers of their families and “have been shown as low-position workers, loving wives and mothers, responsible for raising children and doing housework” (krytyka.org). For my gender challenge, I will not assume my normal daily activities. Although I cannot neglect my children’s needs, I will enlist the aid of my husband to take over my role as a homemaker for the day. I will reverse roles with him and allow him to wait on my children and me; handling all the household daily tasks that I normally take care of.
I choose to go a single day without makeup, fixing my hair, or wearing a dress as I am normally accustomed to. I will wear my hair in a ponytail and wash my face only. I will wear a t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes to work and will clear this with my employer in advance for the completion of this assignment.
Lastly, perhaps the most difficult aspect of this assignment will be refraining from showing compassion to my family, friends, and coworkers. For this particular day, I will be introverted and secluded away. When at home I intend to stay in my bedroom or in other parts of the house, away from my family. I will make a point (weather-permitting) to take a walk by myself instead of the daily walks I take with my family. This will be a great part of this experiment as when we are normally out on walks as a family, we always stop and chat briefly with our neighbors we see along the way. Going out on a walk alone and not speaking to my neighbors when I see them will be very uncharacteristic for me and undoubtedly difficult to do. At work I will take the same approach. I will seclude myself in my office and only have interaction with my coworkers that pertains to business. Typically, I am very jovial and enjoy chatting with my coworkers. I take a personal, vested interest in them and consider them to be my friends. This will also be hard for me to do. All these things combined will be uncharacteristic for me. Being upbeat, caring, and compassionate is part of who I am and to do the opposite and show indifference will be very unsettling for me.

References

Gender stereotypes in mass media. Case study: Analysis of the gender stereotyping phenomenon in TV commercials. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://krytyka.org/gender-stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/
List of Gender Stereotypes. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html