The results of Sunday mass...

For the majority of my life I have done “gender” pretty well according to how society has “prescribed” me out to be. Lorber’s take on how gender is constructed is amazingly eye-opening. Throughout the entire piece, I nodded my headed in approval. For instance, I have younger siblings and my dad constantly reminds me to show “temor a Dios”, fear to God to demonstrate to my younger brother and sisters the importance of religion. Whenever, I act out in defiance to my dad’s God, my father scolds me for showing no consideration to the traditions that have been entailed in him as child. As Lorber had cited from Davies journal, “the moral imperatives of religion and cultural representations guard the boundary lines among genders and ensure that what is demanded, what is permitted, and what is tabooed for the people in each gender is well known and followed by most (Lorber, 144).” For the lack of a better word, religion also plays a vital role in shaping gender identities. How my role plays out in revering God is the implication that I, as a dutiful daughter must do as my father asks, and I do. I grudgingly follow this line of authority. However, I shudder during mass whenever a fellow Catholic hands me a pamphlet demoting pro-choice and scold whoever defends their stance with just Leviticus 18:22. In short, I am a “cafeteria Catholic,” I like to pick and choose what I believe. Going back to how I have done “gender” all my life I fill this role by being the obedient child my parents have shaped me into being and reinforced this through my practice of Catholicism. What better representation of doing “gender” than my going to church every Sunday!