Throughout my life, I have definitely been taught about gender in ways similar to the authors. I especially identify with Kincaid. Thankfully, I didn't believe everything that came out of my mother's big fat mouth.
"You're the man, so you need to support your family." Even if I have a brain tumor?
"Always give a woman your seat." So I should also give up my seat because I'm black, right?
"Never hit a woman." Even if she has a knife pointed at me?
"You should always pay for the date." Even if she ordered a $29 salad?
"Do these things and you'll become a wonderful person." So I'm guessing you didn't do these things? [Zing.]
I've never really done things if I didn't know why I should do them, and she never really explained the reasons for these things fully.
"It's what the man is supposed to do." Why?
So basically, after a while (quite a while) I realized that she's just bitter, and now I make fun of her for it. As we discussed in class, these are all social conventions (and inventions), so I take what I like and ignore the ones that bother me (or piss me off).
4.13.2010
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1 comment:
Kwame,
This is a hilarious post. I like how you added some dialogue, used a sarcastic tone, effectively used rhetorical questions, and even pointed out some irony. It is interesting how the idea of gender can differ between generations. Your stance compared to your mother's is no doubt very common.
Great job!
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