cultural autobiography- emma holdaway

Feminity

Feminity

I grew up with only 1 sister and from a very young age we were both pushed into very feminine interests. We loved to play dress up, the colors pink and purple, and were obsessed with Disney princesses. Growing up, girls were supposed to stick to the traditionally feminine things. My mom also taught me how to cook, clean, and sew like a "good wife" should know how to do. I played with plenty of baby dolls as a kid because taking care of the kids is a woman's job. I still hold on to many traditionally feminine aspects in my life.

Masculinity

Masculinity

As I get older, I still hold on to aspects of my femininity but I also like things that are typically more masculine. When these interests are brought up around guys, they tend to feel a need to test me on my knowledge and question why I really like these things. I want to go into the sports industry after college, which is a very male dominated field. Guys like to quiz me on my knowledge of certain sports like hockey and baseball. They doubt my knowledge and question my interests because sports are viewed as a more masculine interest. All the doubt has made me stronger and now I don't put up with guys questioning my interests because they are traditionally masculine.

Moving

A lot of people are a product of where they grew up, I however don’t think I am. My dad was in the Air Force for the first 10 years of my life and I lived in 6 very different places. I don’t truly identify with one place I grew up because I wasn’t really in one place long enough to place “roots”. For 4 years of my life I grew up in the south but I don’t identify with any specific traits people have who truly grew up in the south. I even got to live in a different country for 2 years, so I experienced many different cultures while growing up.

Judgment

Judgment

I was the youngest in my family until 4 years ago when one of my cousins had his first son. I also have always been one of the youngest in my grade in school. I was the last of my friends to get my drivers license and always felt so much younger than everyone around me. I have definitely always been treated as the youngest and assumed I’m naive because of my age. On the other hand, when people first see me they assume I’m older than I am because of my height. But right when they figure out my real age and I’m the youngest child, they start to treat me as such again.

A big part of my dad’s ancestry is from Italy, he and my grandmother really embrace this. It has mostly affected the kinds of food I eat. I have a higher tolerance for rich foods and foods containing lots of garlic than some of my friends who have different backgrounds. I also have superficial traits from this aspect of my family. My sister, dad, and I all have darker curly hair from that side of the family. Me and my dad have more olive toned skin and we don’t get sunburnt easily and tan quickly. There are also some Italian specific traditions we like to do with my grandmother that have just become a part of my life.

Background

Background