Gender

I think gender plays the most part in our SELF. Gender is the first thing we're known as. From the time we first enter the world we're labeled as a boy or girl with the color blanket we are placed in-blue or pink. People you meet generally ask the gender of a baby before things like age and weight.

Gender is the most basic thing we identify ourselves with. Whenever we meet someone new, is it not the first thing we notice about them? Whether that recognition is conscious or not, I think we'd all agree it is the first thing we notice. In our book it gives this example: "When my niece Michelle was 4 years old, I asked her who she was. Her immediate response was, 'I'm a girl.' Only after naming her sex did she describer her family, her likes and dislikes, and other aspects of her identity." My 5 year old sister was standing next to me when I read this and curiously I asked her, "Who are you?" The phrasing seemed weird to me. I didn't know if she would understand. It seemed more logical to ask someone what they are, but sure enough just like Michelle she immediately stated she was a girl. However, upon asking, "Who else are you?" she didn't respond like Michelle. Instead she said she was a fish, as she likes to pretend to be a fish. I suppose that's where the unclear question took over. :P

For those two reasons, I think gender plays the most part in our SELF.

Audrey Chandler