In a previous assignment, I was asked to recall my earliest memories of learning to behave as a girl, when I became aware of race and its meaning, when I became aware of the existence of social classes, and when I first became aware that different sexual orientations exist. These memories were a little difficult to recall, because they were so long ago. In addition, my first memories of when I was first introduced to what they actually were, may not have been when I really began to understand them. My understanding of all of these categories (gender, race, class, and sexual orientation) continue to grow even today, as I become aware and more informed about the differences in each of them, rather than what solely affects me.
For instance, my earliest memories of gender, was taught to me through social construction of what it was to be a girl. I understood that boys were different from girls by the way I was taught to behave growing up, opposed to my three brothers. As mentioned in class, many of our early memories of learning gender were formed through media, controlled environments such as schools, and the toys we were bought and played with as well as the clothes we were dressed in. I did not learn about other gender oriented statuses until later in high school.
Race, social class, and sexual orientation, were all concepts many of people in the class, including myself, became aware of later as we grew older. Each of theses concepts many of us became aware of each of them, and how they related solely to our lives. As I grew older, I was able to understand and see how other people different from myself, were subjected to each of these categories, and realized different people are affected by gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation differently. My first memories of each of these, were merely the understanding that everyone is different, but I didn't come to understand or explain these difference until later in life, and throughout school.
For example, I understood that my older brothers were Mexican, and they had darker skin than me, as a child, but I really didn't understand the differences in societal construction of race, until I went to school and learned more about the history of this country. I also seen the categorizing of races mentioned on television, and in other media outlets, in stories that were being told. Media has a major impact on people's understanding of races, other than their own. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, is in the context of the way the story is being told.
I didn't really understand social class, or the many different types of sexual orientations until high school. Social class meant nothing to me at the time, besides that some people live better than others, and some people can afford more expensive lifestyles. Again, the categories of low, middle, and upper class are in a sense socially constructed. When I realized some kids having brand new cars at 16 years old, I realized that they definitely had more money than my family did. I continue to grow my understanding of social classes and the economic scale of each of them, but it is still a hazy line between defining actually what lower class is and lower-middle class is. Like social class, my understanding of the multiple sexual orientations was not really clear until high school and college. I was introduced to and taught that there were multiple sexual orientations in seventh grade's health class, but they were never really explained in-depth.
Gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation are all integrated in our lives and impact our lives on a daily basis. Many people become familiar with these concepts through media, family and friends, schools and controlled environments, and religious organizations. Our understandings of these continue to evolve through various relationships in our lives. The meanings of each of these categories are socially constructed, and all interconnected with one another. Even though the meanings are socially constructed, each of these influence our daily lives, while our perceptions of them all have their own consequences.
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