Hello everyone, my name is Tiffany and I am a Communications major. I anticipate on graduating by the end of the year, and will then work my way towards receiving my bachelors in Communications and Science. The ultimate goal is to receive my masters in Speech Pathology. I believe this class can be beneficial to my overall life and career, as it can help me navigate who I am as an individual, and possibly help others on their own personal journey. I love to travel, and love learning about different cultures. When visiting different countries, you learn that peoples perceptives on certain beliefs and values can vastly differ from what you know and believe in. Understanding different identities can help you relate with one another and effectively communicate. Not only when you travel, but also during your everyday life, and I believe this class can prove that.
I absolutely loved the videos and enjoyed seeing how different each of them were. As mentioned in the reading, we all identify ourselves differently. Although we already may know this, it is very interesting to see it so front and center. I can relate to the first video “Be a Man” on many different levels.
I grew up in a household where my father did not cook or clean. My father played sports, went to the gym, worked, and expected to be waited on hand and foot. My mother on the other hand also worked, but did all the cooking and cleaning. If she was not home, I was expected to do all the household duties. My fathers “manly man” ways did not work for their marriage and they eventually got divorced. Although seeing that type of behavior and relationship in my childhood and adolescence, it was not something I identified myself with. As I got older, I got into a relationship with someone who had similar experiences with his whole family. Luckily, him and I shared the same views on partnership. However, our families were shocked with what we valued and how different our relationship was. Ironically, my father did not necessarily feel my partner should be laid back as I do all the household duties, but him and his wife were very surprised when they saw us doing something that was different from their relationship. My mother also does not feel like I should do all the house work, or vise versa, but she constantly tells me that I should be softer and need to know my place as a woman. His parents also felt the same way my parents had. Everyone was so shocked with our relationship, as if it was something foreign.
Although, others feel men should not cook and clean, or vice versa, I do not judge them for beliefs. I respect what others value, regardless how much it differs with my values. It is understandable why certain relationships do not work when you have different beliefs and values, however you still do not have to be judgmental about it. Even sometimes acting shocked by someones behavior can be offensive or just simply annoying. To make meaningful bonds and communicate effectively I believe people need to be less rigid and be open to new things.
Hi Tiffany, my story was similar to your. I also grew in a household where my mom had go do everything although she also worked. When my father would get home he expected to be served. I am glad you found someone who doesn’t have these views and instead helps you. Although families might see this as weird and wrong it is not instead it makes a relationship much stronger.