I am a single, white 21-year-old female from a middle-class working backing. I am the second eldest of four children born to my mother and father. I have one older and one younger brother and a younger sister. We lived in the suburbs of New York, members of the working middle-class. My father was an electrician and my mother was a nurse while I grew up in our neighborhood that was primarily white. I went to a public school in New York and immediately fell in love with my teachers and learning. My teachers were very kind and serious about imparting knowledge to their students. I responded well to this approach, doing my homework, studying hard, and earning good grades. I had a special rapport with my English teacher, a kind woman with a sense of humor and a love of literature. She acted like a mentor for me through high school. Because of the love she instilled in me for language and the arts, I am now majoring in middle-school language arts and social studies. I believe the most important thing I have learned as an undergraduate relates to tolerance and learning. First, I have learned that the more I learn the more I realize I need to know. Second, my social studies learning has demonstrated to me the importance of role modeling in molding attitudes and beliefs in others.
The first time I remember being truly aware of gender happened when I was about seven years old. I used to love playing with my older brother and his friends. I often wore bib overalls, sat open-legged, and participated in sporting events with my brother and his friends. One day when I came home, my bib overalls all dirty from a game of softball, my mother took a lengthy look at me from head to toe. ôMy, my, my,ö she uttered; ôI think itÆs high time we made you into a young lady instead of a tomboy.ö After a thorough bath and scrubbing, my mother took me into her bedroom. She set my hair, applied some makeup to my face, and began throwing a ...