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oh and PS…

2009 February 23
by Nat

So I just realized that I never actually introduced myself on the blog… so here goes!

I’m Nat, a Bryn Mawr sophomore, German major and Gender & Sexuality minor.
I took this class because I realized that I had never actively thought about both Gender and Technology as having any kind of relationship. Also, the fact that, before college, I’d never really thought hard about either one and how each one exists within the context of my own life. As a child growing up in Hong Kong, I was constantly surrounded by all of the latest technological innovations but was never denied access to any of these technologies (as far as I remember) because of my gender. I also never felt particularly gendered… until I came to Bryn Mawr. I wouldn’t say that I break gender stereotypes: I dress up (sometimes), and wear make-up (less often), and like boys (for the most part). But I am also very athletic, have been told that I have the “emotional insensitivity” of a man, and can guarantee you that I can drink 80% of all males under the table. So in a sense I’ve always felt in between genders, or inhabiting some kind of space in between stereotypes. But I’ve also never questioned my gender as being woman. Far from breaking stereotypes, I think that this is the case of many people and I wonder how they reconcile this with themselves? Or whether it needs to be reconciled? I would think that technology definitely plays some part in this as well… but what part I’m not quite sure.

3 Responses
  1. Maddie permalink
    February 24, 2009

    heyy…. i get told that I have the emotional (in)sensitivity of a man too. That’s been accompanied by, “Maddie you should get tested to see if you have more testosterone than the rest of us” and just last week I was fighting with my roommate and she said “Maddie, that’s just not how girls think” Jeez, this class coupled with my apparently 110% female friends is making me think I’m crossing gender lines more than I’ve ever considered…. and I’m a-ok with that.

  2. Solomon Lutze permalink
    February 24, 2009

    yaaay emotional insensitivity!

    Oops. I meant:

    emotional insensitivity. Nng. -grunting noises-

  3. February 24, 2009

    I’ve always felt between genders too, even though most of my life, my physical presentation of myself has always been pretty traditionally feminine. I think because I’m small and present myself femininely, I like having a contrast to that, so I played video games, cussed, drank a lot, etc. in order to contrast my femininity with something more masculine. It’s interesting to think that we somehow feel the need to balance or project our opposing gender as a way of moving along the continuum.

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