Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Trauma? I See No Trauma


Alexander Lau
13 July 2011
FD1


Trauma? I See No Trauma

Mary Pipher, author of "Saplings in the Storm," stated in one of her writings, "Between adolescence and menopause, women experience trauma in adjusting to their gender roles." [Thesis]Gender roles are something we learn as we grow in the society we live in, and adjusting to them should not be a traumatizing experience. [Thesis] 

When discussing whether women experience trauma or not due to gender roles we need to define what trauma means. According to the medical dictionary at dictionary.com, a physical trauma is "a serious bodily injury or shock," and a psychological trauma is "an emotional wound or shock that creates substantial lasting damage to one's psychological development." Referring to the definitions previously stated, trauma is basically a serious event happening in a person’s life to be able to change them physically or psychologically. Something to look at here is what the roles of women are. That depends on the location and their view of women. Another thing is what the norms are as girls grow up to be women. Should puberty be a traumatizing experience or is it just part of growing up.

The environment women live in plays a big part in shaping gender roles. Gender roles vary from place to place. Women are expected to grow up and conform to the society and culture of where they live. In the United States, women have been fighting for equal right since 1848 with the first women’s rights convention. They have been for the most part successful, at least in retrospect. Women are holding jobs they normal would not 163 years ago. It is not rare or unusual to see a woman in a managerial or executive position.  According to a Catalyst census, in the year 2009 and 2010, 50% of Fortune 500 companies had at least 2 women as part of their board of directors. Women that grow up in the U.S. tend to understand that there is still gender inequality, but also know that they can strive to be equal or better than their male counterparts without harsh repercussions. Let us take Michelle Wie as an example. She is currently a professional golfer playing in LPGA tournaments worldwide. In Jemele Hill’s article, “Wie Deserves Our Applause, Not Those Jeers,” when Wie was 16 she decided to try out for the men’s PGA tournament, specifically the U.S. Open. Michelle Wie failed to qualify and people questioned why she would do such a thing in the first place. But, the fact that she was allowed to compete in the men’s tournament and at such a young age shows that, at least in the US that women are allowed to strive for the best even if others think they should not. Of course this is just one society and one country. Other countries are different. In certain countries in Africa, women are limited in what they can and cannot do. But, by understanding their roles in society, women can better come to terms to what are expected from them.

Another thing is that adolescence and menopause are development stages of a woman’s life cycles. In “Saplings in the Storm,” Mary Pipher expresses that girls going through adolescence tend to lose themselves due to society. The gap between the two stages of development is from the years of 13 to 50 according to Erik Erikson’s concept of development stages. It is a normal process that everyone goes through. Schools, at least in the US, teach children about such things as the human body and the changes that will happen, so that they are prepared for what is to come for them.  As adolescence grow so do their perception of the world around them. They begin to see what sort of role they play in their society. These roles differ depending on where each woman lives and knowing themselves. Some learn it sooner than others. But all this is part of growing up such as, relationships, marriage, pregnancy, raising children, and death.

Claudia Ong’s view of the cause of gender role trauma is not totally wrong, but the media is but a part of growing up. Yes, media can influence the norms of gender roles, but they do not dictate them. People decide whether or not to follow what they see on T.V. or in magazines. Gender roles are dictated by the environment one lives in.  And, media is a part of such environments.

Women do not experience gender role trauma. Because as girls grow up to be women they learn gradually to understand what roles they are expected to fill. Women also learn gradually to understand themselves either through school, peers, or personal enlightenment. Knowledge gained by women allows them to better cope with gender roles.




Work Cited

Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. 6th edition. Eds. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2009. 425-432.

"trauma." Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc. 12 Jul. 2011. [Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/trauma].

Catalyst. “Census Reveals Lack Of Progress, New Study Offers A Solution.” 2 May 2011. Women Worth Watching. 11 July 2011. [http://www.womenworthwatching.com/census-reveals-lack-of-progress-new-study-offers-a-solution/]

Hill, Jemele. “Wie Deserves Our Applause, Not Those Jeers.” 6 June 2006. MercuryNews.com. 8 June 2006 [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14756706.htm].

Ong, Claudia. “Causes and Solutions.” 8 July 11, 2011. Laulima Discussion. 11 July 2011. [https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.35103.201140]





Log of Completed Activities
__X__ July 5- First Day of Instruction. Read the welcome message, which includes instructions on how to navigate our class blog. Next, log in to our Laulima discussion forum and your hawaii.edu mailbox. Become familiar with these instructional media. Carefully review the information in our class blog, especially the schedule and syllabus (click on the tab at the top of the page).
__X__ July 5- Laulima Discussion: Who Am I? Post your response by midnight. Possible topics: your academic and career goals; your favorite pastime; favorite book, movie, song; favorite physical activity or sport; favorite quote; personal philosophy on the purpose of life; your personal thoughts on why it’s important to become an excellent writer; favorite food or restaurant; favorite vacation destination; etc.
__X__ July 6- Intro to Paper #1. Read the “Guidelines for Paper #1” by midnight.
__X__ July 6-8- Set up your personal blog for all class papers. Click here for instructions. Alternately, see the “Blogger” links in the right sidebar in our class blog. To begin, complete the initial setup. You’ll be able to add finishing touches as the RD1 due date approaches. If you need help, post a request in the “Q&A About My Blog” forum in Laulima.
__X__ July 7- Laulima Discussion: What Is “Trauma”? One definition or many different definitions? Post your response by midnight.
__X__ July 8- Complete readings for Paper #1 by midnight.
__X__ July 8- Laulima Discussion: Causes & Solutions: What causes gender role trauma? What’s the solution? Assume that there is more than one cause or solution. Post your response by midnight. [10 pts]
__X__ July 11- Submit RD1 (Review Draft #1) [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
__X__ July 12- Submit three RD1 evaluations in Laulima. [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
__X__ July 13- Submit FD1 (Final Draft #1) [100 pts] Review the guidelines.

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