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Chase Chilson English 101 Ms. Hinnant September 12, 2013 Manly Man "There is a time in a boy's life when the sweetness is pounded of him; the tenderness and the ability to show what he feels is gone." - Norah Vincent Literacy and text described as the way one reads, writes, verbalizes, and just to the point of plain understanding what one has to express him or herself in a book, paper and just simply speaking. The literacy of ones life has many factors such as family, music, sports, religion, race, and many more. The factor that has influenced me the most was gender. Through being a male I have looked back and realized that being a male comes with many stereotypes. Many of these have been instilled in me such as the way I conduct and verbalize myself orally and physically. The way a male writes is without emotion or feelings and elaborates ones thoughts with facts and sticks straight to the point with a lot bluntness. Finally a male from the pure adolescence of a young boy, has the constant pressure to read manly things and pressured to stick to the status quo of a manly man. The male gender has strongly impacted my literacy.

Reading is essential to the way one may think, write, or even how one gains his or her personality. Reading concretes everything one comprehends and from the young age of four years old everything I read had a masculine undertone. With that being said being of the male gender it was what considered what was socially acceptable being of the male gender.

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Everything my father or mother made me read from that young age once again had the masculine meaning of sticking to things that demonstrates typical male qualities such as strength, courage, and over coming adversity. With that it began to construct my personal thought processes. I read a lot comic books growing up that were " hand me downs" from my father where it showed the many comic heroes such Super Man, Spider Man, and many other performing manly acts. These comic books began to lay the tracks for what I would begin to read and the ideal of manly literature. One specific book that influenced my manliness was John Wooden's How to Handle Adversity. This piece of work elaborates on many things that a young male will have to endure growing up and how to overcome these certain adversities such as dealing with failure and how to accept it as a challenge to be smarter and stronger and to always stand up when one falls down. John Wooden's words spoke to me as I would sit and read and reread these stories and quotes, it began to shape everything that I would read. It made me start reading Greek mythology which always told stories of demi-gods and heroes overcoming every challenge. This book was also given to me by my father, so by reading this it pretty much told me the only works I would read or should even consider to read had to have the symbolic male undertone or genre. One can tell an astronomical amount of ones personality of how one writes or speaks to the audience by what one puts on paper. Being a male typically stuck to me whenever I wanted to put what I had to say in words. The gender of male is so strict to me, and some what confusing but seeing as a male would never directly express himself or state his feelings, I never did so what so ever. I always thought this because of my upbringing where the man was the rock or the foundation and always holds it together, mentally. I was always confused by the gender of male how it was instituted in society, but I never questioned it and just took the manly acts as they came and went. I now looking back should have questioned why it had to be this way, seeing as

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some of my friends didn't necessarily feel the same way and took different approaches to writing. Having the a typical view as male at this point in my life I always stuck to facts and when ever I would write I would stay blunt and to the point with out the elaboration on how I felt or what emotions were evoked inside of my mind. I constantly write with the chip on my shoulder that a male keeps his inner feelings at bay and would be considered weak, and maybe even judged. For example when I say writing with a chip on my shoulder, I try to stay strong with something to prove but of course with the manly attitude. Writing is one example of how gender took over how I would express my thoughts to the audience which was once again to the point, no elaborating on how I felt no emotion which was the stereotypical male. For example when ever I had to write research papers I would always choose a manly figure and what not, I chose David Beckham seeing as he was a pretty interesting good all around man. Feelings were considered a sign of weakness therefore those feelings and emotions were never put on words where others could see these. I never kept a journal or a diary for a male that would of put me in the awkward position of contradicting everything I had previously been taught as of being of the male gender. Keeping a journal or diary has always been viewed as feminine "girly" act, therefore free writing and once again the expression on what I thought or felt never were written, sticking to the status quo of the ideal male. These certain ideals and beliefs of what it means to be a man, have been exemplified through my past and current writings. When one person speaks to another person his or her vocabulary can express whether or not they show off their gender. A man would most likely speak differently to his male friends than he would females or elders. For example when talking to my male friends I would use a much relaxed tone and slang, but when speaking to females I would drop the slang and use formal tone and not use slang. My father had a lot to do with my vernacular and how I spoke to

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people, he raised to always respect women to the highest degree. In respect to that statement were I was raised in the small town of Pfafftown, ones vernacular meant a lot. Growing up as a male, it was the typical small southern, Christian town with the good ole yes sir, no sir, yes mam, and no mam has been programmed into my head that I literally say that to people my own age at times explaining the politness that comes with elders and strangers. Being a male one was always expected to conduct himself with politeness and courtesy with everything especially when speaking unless it was with close friends but politeness always occurs with females and elders. The whole idea of the male gender has affected the way I verbalize my thoughts that have been instilled with in me, the manners and common way of speaking of male is standard to where I am from, never curse in front of woman. This whole verbal bubble I have been in has affected my literacy a great. Verbal communication in its self expresses a way of life for that person to the point one can most of the time judge another's personality by it, my vernacular has been influenced by my gender. It exemplifies how being a male has influenced my way of verbal communication. Growing up in a world where there is gender prejudice is prevelant every where one looks or steps is everywhere. In rural small town in the heart and soul of North Carolina, gender bias was everywhere one looked from the home life to simply driving, and how one conducts themselves in public. Being a male means has influenced my life directly and indirectly in many ways, from my social conduct, the way I carry myself, and most importantly how I read, write and verbalize myself.