Final EssayWe live in a world that is moving away from the idea of ​​gender constructs. Every aspect of our lives is affected in some way by the roles society believes a certain gender should adopt. Growing up, I didn't fit into the "normal" gender categories that women are supposed to fit into. I didn't realize that a lot of the things I did and the way I dressed weren't associated with a person's "feminine" gender. girl. Ever since I can remember, I've been a tomboy who loved sports and dirt bikes much more than Barbies and princesses, but at such a young age, that seemed normal to me. The older I got, the more I realized that these things weren't what the majority of young girls liked, and that's when I began to understand the differences between gender constructs in men and in women. The majority of my childhood with my father, he was and still is my best friend. He played a key role in shaping who I am today, which directly explains why I'm not the typical "girly girl" that our culture believes girls should be. I spent my weekends in a male-dominated environment, usually at dirt bike or mountain bike events. There were always few girls there, so I learned to behave more like a boy than a girl. Unlike the soft and weak characteristics that girls are supposed to possess, I was the complete opposite. Valenti asserts that “femininity is weak, vulnerable, and artificial” (64). In this regard, I could not be classified as feminine. I loved playing with the boys in the mud and was almost fearless as a child. Usually, as Valenti says, “little girls are always attracted to strong women and feminine characters” (174). In my case, I never wanted to play with a... middle of paper ... I would enjoy being with the guys more than the stereotypical sorority girl. For as long as I can remember, almost all of my friends have been men. It has also influenced my decisions in life. Overall, all aspects of my life, including my role as a parent and the activities I participated in, shaped the gender constructs I found myself within. More dominantly, however, it led me to reject the typical characteristics that women are expected to possess. My male upbringing led me to be labeled a “tomboy,” which suited me just fine. It wasn't until my late college years that pop culture and media elements began to have an effect on my life. This oblivion that I grew up in shaped me into what gender constructs would consider a masculine girl more than a feminine girl, and I continue to carry these characteristics into life with me even today..