My gender is responsible for my being today because social norms dictated

it. A girl should be groomed to be a responsible, helpful, and careful just like how
it was back in ancient times. It was under social customs that girls do the house
chores and the ones to be more patient. Before, being a girl means being the
humble one because education before was only available to male gender and
female race is forced to stay inside the house and take care of it. Work was also
for men because they are supposed to be a breadwinner. However, since we are
not under primitive reasoning anymore and as a society, we have accepted that
women can do big things also, there has been a lot of improvement in how society
works based on gender instruction.
Now, being a girl can be equal to being able to do a lot of things that boys
can do as well, but still with the same traits as what the general public expects. I
am reliable because women of olden ages are expected to be reliable around the
house. I am responsible because I am expected to be like that in our home and
what happens in our home reflects my attitude in school. I am expected to be
respectful because society taught us to be polite towards everyone especially
towards elders. The society played a big role to who I am today. I am the person I
am today partially because of what the society expects me, a girl, to be.
Being a girl has given me the opportunity to be more understood by the
opposite gender. My gender allowed me to be more expressive of my feelings
because girls are seen as emotional and sensitive. Being able to win competitions
against a boy are seen as a big deal because, before, boys are seen to be
masculine, strong, and undefeatable by girls, who are foreseen as weak and timid.
Girls are always seen as non-threatening, innocent, and shy so it’s a surprise to
other people when girls do the crime or do something stupid.
However, being a girl also has its downside. Girls are not allowed to stay
out late at night. Less outdoor activities or bonding with friends. Girls are not
allowed to hang out alone with boys. I am not allowed to have a boyfriend. I am
also obliged to report what I do and be careful of the words that I spit, the things I
do, and how I dress. Drinking liquor and saying bad words are uglier to see when
girls do it. Girls are constricted by appearances, proper decorum, right manners
and etiquette, and time. Girls must do their best to look good in front of people, do
and say the right things, and be courteous to everyone. Girls need to be careful
because we are more often assaulted, harassed, and attacked than boys.
These constraints are because of the belief that girls are weak and easy to
abuse. Nights are times where crimes mostly happen. A lot of sexual harassment
and assaults happen at night because not a lot of people are still outside. Outdoor
activities are limited because we cannot be reckless of the activities we do. Society
can judge so easily based on appearances, words said, how girls act and dress
up. Boyfriends are also not allowed because if the girl gets impregnated, girls are
mostly the one who will suffer and the boy can fly off the scene and absolved
himself of the responsibility. We are the one who will be stucked with the situation.
The society is harsh to girls that is why there’s a lot of limitations and rules applied
to girls. A lot of judgmental eyes watch wherever girls are.
Understanding Culture, Society,
and Politics
Homework

Submitted by:
Ma. Sophia P. Pobocan
Submitted to:
Ms. Solima Casuno

Grade 12- STEM

November 27, 2019