A day that my gender significantly impacted who I was and what I could do, was when I was 8 years old outside playing with my older neighbours. We were running out of things to do so my dad came up with the idea to have a race. I watched the boys have one running race and immediately wanted to join in. They said that I wouldn’t be able to compete because I was younger and “girls are not fast enough”. I, however, challenged that regard and asked one of the boys who was two years older than me to race. He denied and repeatedly said that he did not want to “hurt my feelings”. As sad as it is to say, he only agreed with me after my dad questioned if he was “afraid to lose to a girl”. So here I was ready to prove them all wrong but as my dad yelled “GO!” I soon came to realize that my opponent had not started. When I asked him why he waited he told me that he wanted to give me a head start. My 8 year old self was appalled by that and demanded that he started at the same time as me. Though, he continued to give me a head start for the next three tries, until he finally agreed to start at the same time. Then, as we started the race together, I remember racing past him, I remember hearing my dad cheering me on and I especially remember passing the finish line and watching my opponent trail behind me. It was a victory, I won! After the race, he said “Wow, you’re not too bad for a girl”, then managed to come up with every excuse there was, as to why he lost. My gender affected my identity, because it portrayed me for someone who I was not. I was not slow. And my neighbours views upon my gender pushed me to prove them wrong which then lead me to victory. In the end, to this day, I still think about how my neighbour put me into a gender stereotype and even after I broke it he still managed to keep me labeled. Society forces a label upon us and makes it appear that we, women, are incapable of many things, even when we prove over and over again that, that is not the case. They force feed the world these “false advertisements” and display us in these weak and fragile gender norms.

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As it was expressed through the speech “I’m a Feminist” written and performed by Emma Watson at the United Nations Headquarters, our gender affects our identity because it forms idealistic views of how our gender is meant to be. She begins by discussing how society affects one’s gender, which affects one’s minds, which then affects one’s identity. The mind is trained to intercept the gender norms, created by society, in a way that tells one that they are not allowed to like and adhere to the opposing gender: “I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society despite me needing his presence as a child” (Watson, UN). The stereotypical roles do not only affect one’s way of living but also their health: “I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness’ unable to ask for help for fear that it would make them less of a man. – In the uk, suicide is the biggest killer of men” (Watson, UN). Emma also addressed the unpleasantry that is connected to characteristics that are often linked to women. She states that gender norms can be breached if people start to view gender as a “spectrum” and not two “opposing set of ideals”. Together it must be apparent that “both men and women should feel free to be sensitive, both men and women should feel free to be strong ” (Watson, UN). Our Gender affects our identity because it creates many mental health issues, especially for men. It makes them feel that they are un able to seek help. This is due to the lack of love for more stereotypical feminine attributes, such as: emotional, creative and soft. Through this speech, it is learned that not one characteristic is superior to the other, not one gender is superior to the other and we as humans are equal counterparts in a world that must come together to love the differences.

Watson, Emma. “Emma Watson to United Nations: I’m a Feminist.” HeforShe. United Nations Headquarters, New York. 20 Sept. 2014. Youtube.com. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.

“Boys’ Mental Health Concerns.” Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

In the film “Mulan” produced by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft, the stereotypical view upon women’s capabilities is completely smashed. At the beginning of the movie Mulan is trying to conform to her family’s and country’s views of how women should act, by reciting words like “poised, punctual, graceful and quiet” (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan), as she prepares for an interview with the ‘matchmaker’. She is constantly harassed and put down for acting un lady like, especially when she tries to volunteer for war, in the place of her ill father: “You will do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence.” (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan). However, her true-self comes through and convinces her to dress up as a boy and replace her father as a fake son. Once, she arrives to the camp she is shown through her own efforts and the remarks of others, how weak she is compared to the other soldiers. Despite the fact that she was told to go home due to her inabilities, she works hard all day and night and by the morning she proves to everyone that she is the strongest “man” there by not only completing all the tasks, but also coming first in all of them. As she breaks free from her gender labels and is able to be her true self, she thinks of an elaborate plan, takes the last cannon and shoots it at the mountains to create an avalanche and kill almost all the enemy’s army. The other soldiers are thrilled of the win but as she shows that she is in fact a woman, they shun her and say she is a huge dishonour to the country. Notwithstanding her being completely hated upon, she comes back and saves the kingdom from the rest of the evil army and saves the day. Mulan’s gender affected her identity because people believed that because she was a woman, she was not strong or smart enough to take place in the army, even after she proved to them the capabilities that she does posses, they still shunned her for entering the army. Furthermore, her country its self believed that woman were solely allowed to look pretty, sit there and be quiet. She proves to her country and herself that women are not only strong but they are capable, they are intelligent and they can too, be heroes.

Mulan. Walt Disney, 1998.

“Popular Feminism – Breaking Down Assigned Gender Roles (Yes Amy, I Really Wrote This).” Spencer Gates’s Blog. N.p., 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.