7th topic, Gender and the Self

Question 1

What is one aspect of the self that is subject to alteration, change, and development?

Answer 1

Gender

Question 2

What is important to give someone when it comes to gender expression?

Answer 2

The leeway to find, express, and live his identity.

Question 3

Who is the famous Russian novelist mentioned in the text, whose wife’s experience illustrates the impact of gender on self-perception?

Answer 3

Leo Tolstoy

Question 4

What feeling did Sonia Tolstoy express in her earlier diary entry at age twenty-one?

Answer 4

She felt like a miserable, crushed worm, a useless creature with morning sickness, a big belly, two rotten teeth, and a battered sense of dignity.

Question 5

What change did Sonia Tolstoy express in a later diary entry?

Answer 5

She found it amusing to read her previous diary entry, stating she was actually a happy woman.

Question 6

What does the anecdote about Sonia Tolstoy illustrate about gender?

Answer 6

Gender partly determines how we see ourselves in the world.

Question 7

What feminist thinker argues that girls tend to imitate their mothers and adopt the role of care providers?

Answer 7

Nancy Chodorow.

Question 8

What does the text mention about the toys girls are encouraged to play with that reinforces gender roles?

Answer 8

Girls are given dolls or makeshift kitchen toys.

Question 9

In boarding schools for girls, how are young women encouraged to behave?

Answer 9

They are trained to behave like fine ladies, in a fashion that befits their status as women in society.

Question 10

How are young boys taught to behave like men, according to the text?

Answer 10

By holding in their emotions, being tough, fatalistic, not worrying about danger, and admiring hard physical labor.

Question 11

What traditional practice in the Philippines is used to initiate young boys into manhood?

Answer 11

Circumcision

Question 12

What does the text say gender has to be, instead of dictated by culture and society?

Answer 12

Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted.

Question 13

What did conservatives insist on regarding gender expression, according to the text?

Answer 13

Conservatives insist on the biological aspect of gender.

Question 14

What kind of activism has contributed to changes in gender roles, according to the text?

Answer 14

Feminism and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activism.

Question 15

What system is described as still predominantly influencing gender roles in society?

Answer 15

Patriarchy

Question 16

According to the text, what role do mothers play in perpetuating traditional gender roles?

Answer 16

Mothers take the role of care providers, which girls tend to imitate, perpetuating the mentality of women as care providers.

Question 17

What is one way the text says masculinity is learned?

Answer 17

By integrating a young boy into society and teaching him to be tough, hold in emotions, and admire physical labor.

Question 18

What kind of social expectation does the text mention regarding the eldest man in a family in the Philippines?

Answer 18

The eldest man in a family is expected to head the family and hold it together.

Question 19

What societal role does circumcision play for boys in the Philippines, apart from hygiene?

Answer 19

It asserts their manliness in society and initiates them into manhood.

Question 20

What does the text warn about the process of shaping a gendered self in relation to the environment?

Answer 20

It is dangerous for self-determination and growth if it is dictated by culture and society.

Question 21

What does the text imply about the relationship between culture and selfhood?

Answer 21

Culture can dictate gender roles and expectations, which can limit the individual’s true self-discovery and growth.