Being a boy

For this topic I really had to think hard about a time or incident that first made me hear what "being a boy was about." While thinking, a memory of my junior football league came into my head. I think that it was my first year of tackle football so I was probably in third grade. We were doing a tackling drill for the first time. Many of the players were somewhat afraid to hit someone. I remember the kid in front of me going and one of my coaches yelling at him "Jon if that is as hard as you can hit you might as well go to cheerleading practice." This took nine year old me by surprise and I somewhat learned about the aggression that perceived by people that boys should have. The comment also a negative impression towards cheerleading practices. There is a physical demeanor and aggression that is almost expected of you for being a male. Having an older brother helped me with this because him and I would always fight so I had no problem hitting someone or being aggressive. This has stayed true my whole life because I am still playing the violent sport of football today.

Growing up I looked up to my dad and wanted to do anything that he was doing. I would consider my dad a masculine man and does a lot of masculine things. We taught me how to hunt and fish and do many other things. Watching him as I was growing up I modeled what I was doing after him because that is how I thought things should be and what I should do being a boy. Thankfully he is a great person and I turned out alright. I think that I had mostly positive messages about my body and gender when I was growing up. I would consider myself more masculine participating in some of the most masculine sports so I fit into the societal "norm."

Our culture emphasizes a feminine ideal body and demeanor that contrasts with an athletic body and demeanor ( Vikki Krane). I personally can not relate to this but I have experience this first hand with my sister. My sister has been very athletic her whole life. She was a very good softball player in junior high and high school. She is built like an athlete so she would often get teased by people thinking that she was a lesbian. I could tell several times that it upset her and confused her. I remember her saying to me "I don't understand why softball players get made fun of for having their bodies in the best physical shape, when that is what all other sports do and it is alright for them." This made a lot of sense to me and is something that I think needs to change in society. As a society we need to be more accepting of female athletes. We need to appreciate how great a lot of females athletes are at the sports they compete in rather than focusing on other things.