Gender

This week we have been discussing gender differences. I think that it’s funny how people in today’s society push for people to be different in aspects such as ethnicity and race, but it’s not okay to be different in gender. It’s okay to have differences. There isn’t one gender that is better than another. We both have our roles and specific differences that are unique and beneficial. For some it’s hard to accept that women have an innate nurturing ability and boys have a more aggressive leadership type nature. I also know people that are so caught up in these differences. They either say there is no difference and that it is because of the way we have been raised that our children grow up to be this way. It is simple our culture that is the problem. Woman and men are exactly the same. I think that this is not true at all. I also know people that think there are huge differences and that one sex is better than another or that there is no way that the two sexes can come together to accomplish anything good at all. I think both of these ideas are extreme and they are missing the big picture. We have gender for a reason. Heavenly Father created us this way for a specific purpose. The family functions the best when these two genders come together. We, male and female, both bring something different to contribute and we work together to accomplish something great. I have wonderful examples of this in my family. My parents are so different, but as they have worked together they have raised a family successfully.

Today in class we talked about research that studied families from Mexico and how their family relationships were affected by their migration to the United States. We talked a lot about how the father will sometimes come over here first. He is only expecting to be gone or 6 to 12 months, but instead he is gone for 3 years on average. This causes stress and role changes in his family back home. His wife has to be the nurturer and the head of the house. She has to work and their kids feel neglected. The kids aren't as close with their father and feel betrayed sometimes because he has been absent in their lives for so long. He is just trying to better provide for him family. I feel so bad for these families that sacrifice so much to try and ensure a better future.

I can't imagine my father leaving my family for his job. He had to travel quite a bit, but he would never be gone for more than a day or two at a time and even that was pretty rare. I missed him so much when he would leave for only those short times. I can see how that would be hard on children for one of their parents to leave for years at a time.

In my future family I don't ever want to mu husband to leave me and our family for long periods of time for his job. I don't think it would be worth it to have all the money in the world if we were separated as a family. Being together and developing those healthy relationships are the most important things to me. My heart breaks for any family that has to go through what these Mexican families have to go through.