Robeits

1
Aaron Roberts
Ms. Hinnant
English 1101
10 September 2013

I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt; I do not believe that
any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that
every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their
background or life experiences. (Sonia Sotomayor) that being said, I do believe that
everything I say, read, and write has some influence based on my gender being a male.
I am not the strongest reader but when I do read, I find anything about sports, war,
or any other manly things interesting obviously because I am a male. As a child I had
a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids and as I got older, I switched to the regular
Sports Illustrated. To me sports are really important and I believe thats because of my
gender. Not to say that girls dont enjoy sports, I just know that personally, I would
enjoy reading any literature about sports. One I remember reading when I was in fifth
grade was called Idiot, an autobiography by Johnny Damon, the center fielder for the
Boston Red Sox at the time it was published. Most kids in the fifth grade arent
interested in reading autobiographies. To me it didnt matter what it was, it was related
to sports so I read it. Other then sports, I was also interested in war at a young age. In
elementary school when we were forced to go to the library and check out a book to read,
I would go and find books relating to World War II, or anything else that had to do with
Beth 9/22/13 10:21 PM
Comment [1]: Nake suie that you have a
cieative woiking title! !
Beth 9/22/13 10:23 PM
Comment [2]: I uon't think this is an
intiouuction as of now. It's basically just a quote
anu a sentence. Ny auvice woulu be to put the
quote above youi initial paiagiaph anu then woik
on explaining what the quote means to you anu
how it ielates to genuei. Right now I'm not suie
what its puipose is, anu I feel a little iusheu into
youi naiiative.
Beth 9/22/13 10:24 PM
Comment [3]: See if you can push youiself to
think about these iueals. It's ieally easy to say "I
uo manly things because I'm a man," but who
ueciueu what's manly in the fiist place. Think
about who anu what in youi life has influenceu
you in thinking that spoits anu wai aie what
make you masculine. uenuei noims come fiom
somewheie!
Beth 9/22/13 10:25 PM
Comment [4]: These sentences aie both kinu of
vague.
Beth 9/22/13 10:26 PM
Comment [5]: Why uo you think this is. Biu
you have a male family membei in the wai. Biu
you see a movie about wai that intiigueu you
eaily on. What was it that so fascinateu you about
the subject. Really stiive to push youiself into
ueepei thinking.
Robeits

2
the Military, Navy, or Air Force. My Grandpa served in the Navy during the Korean
War, and gave me this huge book that had printed pictures and descriptions of all
different types naval ships in the United States Navy. I used to look through this book all
the time as a little kid and examine each ship, and it just fascinated me most likely
because of my gender. Im sure some girls are interested in battleships and destroyers
but I highly doubt you could commonly find a girl who as a child wanted to sit down and
look at pictures of the Navy. Most girls are interested in Seventeen Magazine, Girls Life,
or Teen Vogue. My grandpa also gave me a book about the planes the United States Air
Force had in their arsenal and again I dont think many girls were chomping at the bit to
pick up and book about airplanes and look through it with enthusiasm. Obviously gender
plays a big role in the books people voluntarily pick to read.
I never really kept a journal, and I dont really know many of my guy friends that
kept one either, but I feel like the majority of people who had a journal or diary are
females. I know a lot of girls who did not have a diary or journal, so I am not saying that
ALL girls have them, just that I bet nine times out of ten a female had a journal or diary
as a child or currently while the male did not. Throughout my earlier years of schooling,
I never really was a fan of writing. It turns out; all of my friends who are males were not
fans of writing either. On the other hand, most of my friends who are females didnt
necessarily say writing was there favorite thing, but the majority of them didnt have a
problem with writing during school.
Beth 9/22/13 10:27 PM
Comment [6]: If youi aigument is centeieu
aiounu genuei, then this statement uoesn't woik.
It shoulun't be "most likely," but uefinite.
Beth 9/22/13 10:29 PM
Comment [7]: Why uo you think this is (othei
than the fact that theii giils). What outsiue
souices uo you think teach giils anu boys what
genuei "appiopiiateness" is.
Beth 9/22/13 10:30 PM
Comment [8]: I'm not suie what this section is
accomplishing. Aie you telling me that no guys
like to wiite. That's not tiue. This uefinitely
neeus some uevelopment.
Robeits

S
Verbally I am very different from how common females speak. The things I say
verbally are directly correlated with my gender being a male. For instance my humor,
my humor is very different from other girls, and many of them would not get it. I also
talk a lot about sports. I tend to speak more on the matter of sports and politics, while
females tend to speak more about intimate matters such as family, feelings, and
relationships. My friends and I will argue about sports for what seems hours. I dont
usually get into to many arguments with females about sports but I am sure it will happen
sooner or later. Aside from arguing, I could just talk about sports for hours with someone
because I keep up with it so much and listen to Sports Center all the time. I also do cuss
from time to time, I think mostly everyone (males and females) tend to say the usual cuss
word now and then. Males also tend to be more direct when talking about a problem. I
will just tell you straightforward what it is, while a female might be less subtle and try
and connect with you rather then just saying it right off the bat. Males tend to be less
responsive emotionally, but seeing as I am a psychology major with plans on being a
psychologist, I will be pretty open to hearing people emotions and helping them out with
their problems. A lot of my guy friends have told me that they dont know why I would
want to be a Psychologist and listen to peoples problems, because they said, it would
get really annoying really fast. So I guess thats a difference I have verbally with
other guys. I dont mind talking it out with someone if they are having problems and
need someone to talk to. I will pretty much talk to anyone. I am always that person who
Beth 9/22/13 10:30 PM
Comment [9]: Why. Can you give me an
example of a time that youi humoi uiun't woik
with a female.
Beth 9/22/13 10:30 PM
Comment [10]: This seems steieotypical. Tiy
to avoiu ovei-geneializations.
Beth 9/22/13 10:31 PM
Comment [11]: Anu how uo you think you'll
woik thiough youi "manliness" in oiuei to uo
this.
Robeits

4
sits on an airplane next to someone I dont know and will talk to them the whole time
regardless of who it is.
There are many distinctions when it comes to the categories of reading, writing,
and verbal communication, and I have only named a few. Its clear that when it comes to
these things, gender plays a significant role.

Aaron,
Theres some good stuff in here. I can tell that youve done some hard thinking
about how gender has affected your reading, writing, and verbal communication,
and some of the examples you use correlate well. However, I feel like this entire
narrative revolves around stereotypes. You constantly say that you just do things
(like read, write, and communicate) because thats what guys do. I dont think
thats enough. Gender norms are predominantly socially constructed (though there
are some psychological differences, as Im sure you know). I want to know who or
what in your life taught you what it was to be a man. Think back, and think hard.
Also, your writing paragraph is lacking any real connection. You cant simply argue
that all guys hate writing, because that isnt true. The goal of this assignment is to
force you think critically about yourself, and right now I still feel like youre grazing
the surface. In revision I suggest that you use the comments and questions Ive made
in the margins to help you delve deeper into your past experiences. Keep pushing!


Beth 9/22/13 10:31 PM
Comment [12]: I uon't think you neeu this
conclusion.