Free Essays on Gender Reflection Paper On Friends

GRP #3 - Friendship I was raised to be a girly girl. I didn’t climb trees, I didn’t fight boys, I never learned to ride a bicycle because I got driven everywhere I wanted to go. Frankly, I was basically scared of boys through about eighth grade. I was afraid of the smallest iota of a possibility of rejection. This meant that most of the energy that would have gone towards actually pursing the boys I had crushes on was spent on psychoanalyzing my friends. Between the ages of 5 and thirteen I probably had a total of 2 male friends outside of my church. However, despite this severe lack of cross gender relationships I had my first â€Å"boyfriend† at seven years old! Strangely, this new development was encouraged by my teachers, while the idea of having a boy as friend would classify me as a tomboy or de-sex him as a male. Because of these complications I never felt very compelled to engage in a friendship with a male. However, in High school my life began to make a change, my friends (whom I had not seen since elementary school) had progressed to cross-gendered relationships – opening my eyes to a whole other spectrum of friendship possibilities. I suddenly realized that I actually had more in common with the opposite sex that I believed. In fact over the years I have found that guys have replaced some of my closest girlfriends. As I reflect on the effect of my social network on my friendships I have mixed emotions – although I appreciate the distinct femininity that has been instilled in me I wish that I had had the experience of growing up with more male friends. I would like to believe I might not have been so emotionally stunted when it came to boys. Although I see the disadvantages of my upbringing the likelihood is that I won’t stray far from it. And will sadly, pass this setback to my children until one of us gains the audacity to end the emotionally destructive circle.... Free Essays on Gender Reflection Paper On Friends Free Essays on Gender Reflection Paper On Friends GRP #3 - Friendship I was raised to be a girly girl. I didn’t climb trees, I didn’t fight boys, I never learned to ride a bicycle because I got driven everywhere I wanted to go. Frankly, I was basically scared of boys through about eighth grade. I was afraid of the smallest iota of a possibility of rejection. This meant that most of the energy that would have gone towards actually pursing the boys I had crushes on was spent on psychoanalyzing my friends. Between the ages of 5 and thirteen I probably had a total of 2 male friends outside of my church. However, despite this severe lack of cross gender relationships I had my first â€Å"boyfriend† at seven years old! Strangely, this new development was encouraged by my teachers, while the idea of having a boy as friend would classify me as a tomboy or de-sex him as a male. Because of these complications I never felt very compelled to engage in a friendship with a male. However, in High school my life began to make a change, my friends (whom I had not seen since elementary school) had progressed to cross-gendered relationships – opening my eyes to a whole other spectrum of friendship possibilities. I suddenly realized that I actually had more in common with the opposite sex that I believed. In fact over the years I have found that guys have replaced some of my closest girlfriends. As I reflect on the effect of my social network on my friendships I have mixed emotions – although I appreciate the distinct femininity that has been instilled in me I wish that I had had the experience of growing up with more male friends. I would like to believe I might not have been so emotionally stunted when it came to boys. Although I see the disadvantages of my upbringing the likelihood is that I won’t stray far from it. And will sadly, pass this setback to my children until one of us gains the audacity to end the emotionally destructive circle....