Week 4: Gender

 This week we talked about several things. One topic that stood out was gender roles. I know that last week we talked about roles in the family, but gender actually plays a major part. Studies show that children are in the best situation to be raised by two biological parents. One man and one woman. I know this is true because that is how God intended it to be. In the Family Proclamation to the World, it says that marriage is between a man and a woman. The world is extremely controversial when it comes to this subject. Gay marriages are legal in the United States, and lots of children are being raised by parents of the same sex. That does not mean that the child is not going to be raised correctly, or that the parents are going to do a bad job, it is just not how God intended it to be. This is a very important subject to me because I have a sister in my family who came out as bisexual. My family is strong in the church and my parents did an amazing job raising us. My sister has very strong opinions about gender and marriage that do not align with the church. This causes some unspoken contention in my family sometimes. My parents are so amazing and handle the situation the best they can. It can be hard in a family when not everyone has the same views and one person strays away from the church. The rest of my family believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, and if my sister potentially chooses to marry a woman, then the dynamics of my family will change significantly. There are certain roles that a mother has, and certain roles that a father has. I believe a mother has a special connection to their children because of giving birth to them, which usually means the mother is the one to nurture. My mom is a great example of this and has a comforting feeling about her, especially when you are upset and she makes you feel better. The father is usually the one to protect and provide. My dad is the main provider of my household growing up. This does not make my dad the leader of the house. Nowadays, more women are choosing to work and want to have careers as well. I think that is great, but I do think there needs to be one parent who is home if the children are young. I don’t love the idea of daycare, but understand if it is a financial need. I think that either parent can be a provider, It doesn't matter who. I think that either parent can nurture as well. A child has needs, and as long as the two parents are meeting those needs for their child, then the roles can be assigned to either parent. I do think that a major role in a family is a priesthood holder. That is a role that can only be obtained by a husband. There are other things that usually pertain to one parent specifically. One example is puberty. Is the husband really going to want to give his daughter the tampon talk? Probably not. Single dads I understand, but if the wife is capable, then I would assume it would be her role. My husband and I have already seen roles that we have taken up without realizing it. My husband is the one who always goes grocery shopping. While he is gone, I will clean up the house. There are many other simple roles like this that we have seen, but we make sure it is always equal. I think there are certain things in a family that are the responsibility of either the mom or dad. Gender is essential in a family, and each person has their responsibilities.