Hi. My names is _________ and I'm an facebookaholic.

....really a connect-a-holic. Well, maybe anyway...it's definitely a bad habit. I was going to go one day without checking my facebook account, hotmail, or gmail account. It was going to a piece of cake. Because, as Past Charly declared with a dismissal wave of the hand, "There's no WAY I'm addicted."

Right.

I swear, I never meant to. I would get on a computer for a homework assignment, and my traitorous fingers would instantly type in "www.f" and click on the link that instantly popped up, and before I even realized it, I was staring at my "news feed".

It was kind of embarrassing, actually. I mean, I to find out I frequented Facebook so much that my fingers automatically and subconsciously typed in the address?

On the off-chance I did catch myself, I either had to snap my computer shut and pull a "Joseph" (flee from temptation) or I would find that I had a perfectly legitimate and extremely pressing need to get on my Facebook. (I HAD to talk to Morgan about Halloween and it HAD to be THAT moment. And there simply wasn't ANY other way to contact time: my phone was MUCH too far away.) and so I'd cave.

I sheepishly posted my findings on Facebook, and although very few individuals responded, the ones that did, admitted their own addictions.

"yep. :\"

"YESSS!!!"

"It's pretty bad..."

"yes. GOSH yes, ur not the only 1."

Life as usual...

I used to really enjoy chatting with people on facebook, but after realizing how much time I spent talking to distant friends instead of doing my homework or working, I chose to turn it off. I've gotten on chat twice in the last four months, and that was to talk to my best friends who were in Peru and Romania. So, cutting chatting out of my day didn't mean anything. I then cut texting, and I primarily get texts from my roommates asking for favors. Maybe two texts a day, average. So that didn't mean much either.

Cutting gmail out? Ouch. That hurt. I regularly have gmail up in my first tab on Chrome and constantly found my eyes wandering over to see if I had any new emails. Most of the communication for my two jobs is through email, so I found it really hard not to justify checking my email every time it said "Inbox (1)" on the tab. I probably had my eyes wander over to that tab over 50 times throughout the day. This is partly because I program a website and I have to use the internet browser so it is always up; partly because it is habit. I'll freely admit that I'm addicted to gmail (with all its amazing filters and features).

My younger friends would die without facebook and texting, it is a very social activity for them. The upperclassmen that responded said they could cut everything but email. My friends who traveled this last summer brought up a good point though: if everyone knows you won't be checking your email more than once a month or so, they won't expect a quick response, so they email you less often and only with important questions.

A regular theme I found - society expects me to constantly be in communication, and there can be consequences if I'm not connected 24/7. Teachers give last-minute assignments, TAs send last-minute suggestions for a project or announcements, roommates forgot their immunization records for their doctor's appointment and need me to bring them. While the expectation remains for a quick response, that is what I must give.

no gmail, no fb, no chat

Here are some notes I took during and after my experience... I had some very interesting observations... please read and comment. 

• I deleted my fb notifications to my gmail.
• I waited til 10:30am to check my email, I sent off one email. I closed it. And I was about to open it again, but stopped myself before it fully loaded.
• It’s become instinct to check my email
• Every time I wanted to eat or listen to music, I felt like I couldn't because I had been telling myself no to checking gmail; kinda like the day after fast Sunday when you have the urge to eat you feel like you can’t
• I usually keep gmail open, because I chat with my bf
• I refer to it often because I have purposefully not read certain emails because I don’t have time to when I receive them and so they remain bolded to remind myself to get to it later. My unread emails serve as a check list and reminders.
• I believe it was from “Divine Nations”, it said that humans used to have everything memorize, then came writing, then came audio, then came visual, then came interactive
• We need things to keep us engaged and involved, an experience
• Our memory, as humans, has weakened
• I have reminders on my phone
• I needed to go on email to retrieve a document for a group project and an email from a teacher, but I didn’t go through my emails
• Documents are digital, not in hard copy. We are adapting our systems to be solely digital
• I told some friends about my “fast” and they said, “I couldn’t do it”
• Another girl in the class was refraining from texting.
• I don’t know how I could manage without texting, because there were times when I needed to text rather than call, more convenient
• I could probably survive longer than I think without technology, fb especially, but other rely on it, so I have to in order to keep it touch with them and function in the same way
• I did for a year and a half (mission), only because the people I needed to contact weren’t on fb
• I keep my fb, mainly for mission contacts, my purses, kit with old friends
• My bf thinks I’m addicted to email because it causes me to not eat
• I may justify it by saying I need it to help me remember things I need to do and so I can talk to him
• I think that because I have a laptop, I bring it to campus for convenience; I am accustomed to having email so accessible. When before, it would be long hours until I could check my email.
• I am not as attached to fb as I am gmail. Fb is more for pleasing others. I could go a week without going on. But I feel that people need to get a hold of me, so I go and check what people are trying to communicate to me. I don’t think it serves me a real purpose, only for my bags.

So, I guess I am addicted, but I don't like saying it. I justify it. Cause saying I'm addicted beings such a negative connotation like being addicted to tobacco or alcohol. I am addicted to the action of going on and checking, just because i always have my laptop with me. I don't have a smart phone. I only go onto fb to check messages and such. I try not to stay long, cause I know that someone will catch me in an IM convo when I normally don't have time to chat. 

woops

My experience was very similar to the other posts... facebook and email are so much a part of my regular routine that I found myself on the sites every time I was on my computer. It's sad but I guess it's become such a habit to click on the gmail tab, and then check facebook right away. My status did not get much feedback but after reading the previous posts it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who's slightly addicted...

addiction or consumerism?

When I woke up in the morning I automatically checked facebook without even thinking about it. It is a habit to check it in the morning when I wake up. I had files for work in my email that I needed but was able to get around not checking my email during the day. My to-do list is kept in my email and I felt like I didn't know what I needed to do.

I also noticed that I might not be addicted to facebook and my email, but I am addicted to the internet. Because I couldn't entertain myself on facebook, I just found other websites to occupy my attention. I noticed every time I wonder about something, I have to check the internet instantly. I can't wait to check on that fact I wondered about. When we grew up having the internet at our fingertips, why should we wait to look up a fact. Our parents grew up in a time when if they wondered about something, they had to ask their parents or go to the library. We can get the answer instantly with the internet.

Only after a few hours, I realized I felt the need to be checking something. I contemplated checking my grades for the second time just to see if something had changed. Then I realized I checked them earlier in the morning and it wasn't likely that they would change in two hours. Most of my friends who commented on my facebook status said they wouldn't be able to give up email because of work reasons. One admitted she is addicted and another said she has very little willpower and couldnt do it.

I wonder if gmail and facebook give us the same feeling we get when purchasing goods like clothing and toys. Is it just another way in which we satisfy our need for consumerism?

The "media fast" for 24 hours wasn't too hard--after all, I'm not a digital native. But I did catch myself automatically logging onto Facebook and had to quickly cancel out so I wouldn't read any posts. Since I don't have the internet on my cell phone, it's a lot easier for me to stay more disconnected--if I need to check my email, I have to log on to my computer. I find that the busier I am, the less I feel the need to be on Facebook. Facebook is a cure for boredom for me, so if I'm busy or engaged in an activity that is enjoyable, then I don't feel the constant need to check and see what other people are up to.

Sadly, I didn't get very many responses to my Facebook post. One friend commented on the mother who killed her toddler because he interrupted her Farmville game. I think that says it all.

FB

I had the same experience. Throughout the day without even thinking I would open Facebook on my phone and catch myself. I did it without even thinking. That just goes to show that it has become such a habit in my life that its part of my routine. Every time i'm bored or have a moment to spare I check my notifications or browse the newsfeed. Scary.

Media Fast

I check Facebook every day, but it is usually the last resort when I am bored. I noticed that I cannot sit still and do nothing. When Facebook was not available for me, I just started looking up things online and listened to music. I replaced my Facebook activity for another activity to keep me entertained. I do not think that I am addicted to specific digital services as much as I am addicted to always needing to be entertained. When something is not available to me, I will just replace it with another activity. I needed to check my emails so I did not include emailing in my media fast. I could not text people, so I noticed that I would just email them instead. It would have been just as easy to call them, but it felt inconvenient to get into a conversation with someone when all I needed was a quick answer. The real challenge for me would have been to take all of my media away. My friends were all quick to respond that they are addicted to digital media. My roommate gave an example of her addiction be saying that she sends over 1,000 text messages a week. The overall theme from my friend’s responses were that they could not go a few hours without some sort of digital media, let alone an entire day. The need for quick information and be constantly entertained is engrained in us.

E-Mail

On a normal day, I keep my email open at work, with the gchat feature signed in. I talk to people all day, checking emails immediately as they arrive. Friday though, and I guess I cheated, I was out of town. I checked my email in the morning, read my Real Simple Daily Thought, and didn't even care to check it at night. Living without the chat function was fine, and I even quit texting because everyone I know is with me right now, in Vegas. Having good food, good friends, and good conversation was much more enjoyable than sitting at my desk at work (which is undeniably really fun sometimes, right Parker?) hoping for a distraction. So I guess the conclusion that I drew is that I have to be enjoying myself at all times. That's not high maintenance, right? Maybe what it really is is the fact that I HAVE to be communicating with the people I care about AT ALL TIMES or I start to freak out. The days that go by when I haven't had any texts or emails from at least 5 friends are rare indeed. It's not as much that I am obsessed with technology, I am just obsessed with my relationships. And technology is the best way for me to stay connected to my friends far away.

You've Got Mail

l

I had such a hard time only checking my email at night and during the day. I left myself sticky notes, wrote it in my planner and let's be honest... I found myself on my email throughout the day. All the sudden I was just checking my email and I was like holy cow how did I even get on here?! It's a reflex that I never noticed. When I get on the computer I automatically go straight to email. I never really chat so that was ok. And I didn't even want to try only checking facebook twice because I get texts for anything that happens on facebook. When I posted my results of Facebook and asked people how they would do I got a couple of responses saying that they were obsessed with it and they thought others were as well. We are addicted because it is part of our everyday lives! We use it for work, school, church, communicating long-distance with famiy and friends... the list goes on.

Sewing Rocks

So I am writing this now as I never got the email about the assignment last week. It was very interesting though with the responses I got for starting a sewing class. I actually got positive responses from both girls and guys. My brother said, "Now thats a TRUE MAN" and that my grandma would be proud.

All of the girls stated that they were glad to hear it so that I could help out my future wife and mentioned that you never know when it would come in handy.

Overall it was really cool to see the positive view points of both the guys and girls who responded to my facebook post.

No Reaction

I posted on my Facebook status that I will be taking up kickboxing. I didn't get nearly as many responses on this update as I did on the last one. I think that even though kickboxing would fall under the "male gender code", in today's society, it would not be a big deal for a girl to start doing it. This could be because many female celebrities have embraced this sport and have proved it to be a very good work out. It seems almost "hip" for a female to start kickboxing in today's world. I really don't think others would think twice about it. However, for a male to start sewing, I would definitely anticipate some uproar.

Cultural Insights on Gender Role

Quite an experience! After posting “-”I’m starting a sewing class next week” people took less than a minute to start posting comments. Surprisingly, the nicest ones were from Americans and the meanest and most homophobic ones were from Latinos. I must say that gay marriage will have to fight harder than against President Packer to be approved in Latin America (with the exception of Argentina who already passed it).
Comments like “maricon” (“fag”,repeated many times), “what is that country doing to you”, “I’m worried” or all kind of improper words (yeah, worse than “fag”) were the most common reaction to my post. It might show how the gender role is probably more defined and more openly judged in Latin America than it is here. Even when the sample involved is not large enough to generalize, it was interesting to see that the worst comment by an American friend was “you need to get married”. It was also interesting to see that from the total of 16 comments, 7 were from American males and 9 were from Latinos. It is interesting because even though there was a similar degree of involvement, there was more aggressiveness toward gender roles discrepancies among Latinos.

Kickboxing not even an issue

When I made the post "I'm going to take up kickboxing!" I only had two people respond, one with the "like" button, who was a girl. The other response was from my friend who is male, and he asked where I was doing it. I think, however, I got the response I did because I'm more of a tomboy anyway and anything similar to my status wouldn't surprise most people. I've played soccer and other sports since I was 4, and I go to the gym 4 times a week, so I don't think anyone thought it was weird for me. But then, I'm not a girly-girl per se.

"I'm laughing pretty hard right now"

What? I can't take kickboxing? When I think of kickboxing, I do not think of sweaty men and muscley legs being forced into someone's torso. Rather, I think of a bunch of women standing in rows at 24 hour fitness punching and kicking in the air. You see, I have been one of these women. I wanted to try the class out. And, regardless of the fact that I may or may not have felt a little ridiculous flailing my arms around, it was a nice cardio work out. This comment was from my friend Joey. He is the most heterosexual guy I have ever met. So, it makes sense why he would respond the way he did. On the other hand, one of my guy friends, Omar, clicked the "like" button. Contrasting Omar's response to Joey's, Omar's response made more sense because he is a little on the feminine side. Joey seems more about male dominance and Omar is more about equailty. Joey shot my idea down while Omar lifted it up.

Sewing Classes

When I posted the comment two friends of mine that are hipsters immediately liked the post. Then some other guy said that he was excited for me so that I could teach him how to do it. A girl commented "I always knew you were gay." Then another girl told me that "You've changed." So basically it obviously has become more accepted but not completely. I feel that nowadays some guys are very concerned with their clothes and how they look and some girls like this and others don't.

When I changed my status a roommate of mine said she liked it. Then, one of our good guy friends responded with "I will fight the both of you." I know this was a sarcastic comment; we could analyze it and say its male ego and he wants to prove he could beat two girls at once. But, I really know the comments I got were sarcastic. Kickboxing really isn't that weird of an activity for girls to participate in these days. I think the guys in the class definitely had the harder status to put up. Those responses would be interesting. The rest of my posts were basically witty banter between my roommate and our friend. The only other interesting thing was a post from my friend saying:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdDJ1_ZUyLs

You must learn from this man to be a great fighter.

I don't know if I get these responses because people know I'm a sarcastic person or because no one found my status weird in any way. Either way, I got a good laugh out of the video.

Sewing, That didn't work that well for me.

I found that taking a sewing class or learning to sew wouldn't be that big of a deal for me. The reason being is I ballroom dance, and I'm sponsored by a designer that makes all of my dancegear. And they are all dudes. They used to work with Kenneth Cole NY's design team for mens fashion, and suits. So posting that I'm learning to sew only brought encouragement, and thats sweet. So I tried posting on my wife's facebook that she's taking up kick boxing. She is the perfect picture of being a girl in a hegemonic masculine society. She sings, dances, sews, cooks, bakes, & everything else in between. So I posted that she was going to pick up kick boxing. I need more time to see whats going to happen. So far only words of encouragement have been posted, but her family hasn't logged on yet, so we'll see.

Raimo

Rage against the world

The people who posted mostly were supportive, I got a few "likes" and a few inside jokes, but nothing huge. Probably my favorite of the facebook posts said, "I've decided I don't have enough anger for kickboxing." Taking up something like kickboxing would be par for course for me, so it wasn't a huge deal. That says a lot about me and about society. In fact, when we received the assignment to post about kickboxing, I immediately thought of the kickboxing aerobic classes I have taken in the past, (which were mostly attended by women). It is definitely empowering for women to step out of proscribed gender roles. On the flip side, I have seen it be empowering for men to step outside their societal role and admit that they love sewing or crocheting or painting their toenails. If they love it, they love it. Sometimes people will give them a hard time, but the men I know who have stepped outside of the male 'norm' have just owned the fact that they loved what they are doing. Eventually people catch on and are cool with it.

My Temporary Boxing Career

Although I couldn't use my round-house kick or my hook, jab, and cross, I found the few comments on Facebook very entertaining. I got five male responses and one female response, who just replied, "Awesome!" Two males thought it was cool: " U should Em wants me to teach her a little to" or "your on! I get to be your first victim...I mean opponent." Surprisingly, they were very supportive and excited for me! I think this was like what we talked about in class. Women have a little bit of leeway to engage in "manly" events, compared to men engaging in "womanly" events. There was one male, however, who replied, "Uh-Oh!" which can only mean one thing. He must have felt nervous and hesitant about my experimental decision. I wish I had received more comments to reflect on, but unfortunately this is what I had to work with.

Gender Shmender

Well I did it, I posted "I'm taking up kick-boxing" as my Facebook status and guess what?

a big....

fat...

Nothing.

Nobody cares!

And why should they? In today's world, it's actually sexy for a woman to do something that men traditionally would have had the monopoly on... plus, I know tons of girls who do kickboxing, it's not even that exclusively male anymore.

We sort of talked about this in class, but women have much more flexibility with gender roles than men do right now. If a guy took up crocheting and wore makeup... he'd be a wee bit on the gender-confused side. But a woman who fixes your car AND looks good in heels? Now that's awesome. I think of all those chicks in bikinis on a motorcycle, a good mixture of feminine and masculine, and yet they're the two-page spread in magazines for men. A guy in a tutu? Not so much. (Although I am the first to admit that Mikhail Baryshnikov is the most attractive man to have ever walked this planet. He is plenty manly.)

In many senses, the women's liberation movement gave women more freedoms than men will ever have-- there are so many different kinds of women, but it's still hard to be a man in capris in the U.S.

Don't try this at home

I posted my status as: "I'm taking up kickboxing" on October 7, and 9:31pm. Instantly, one girl and one guy liked my status.

Then, my status was silent for a while. I received one more response from one of my parents' friends. She is very into being an independent and strong woman. So, naturally her response was encouraging:

"Totally cool! Then if you even have to "take care of business"....you'll know how to! Pretty darn cool!"

I left my status up for about 2-3 days. There were no other responses. which really surprised me. However, on Saturday, I got a text message from an old friend. He said that he saw on facebook that I was taking up kick-boxing. I told him, yes. He made a joke about how he thought he was the "muscle in our friendship." I laughed it off, but I couldn't help but wonder what his message was.

It seems like I got mixed and sparse results which is disappointing, but the two responses I got were interesting. The woman was excited and encouraging. She wanted me to be able to protect myself with my new skill. However, my male friend made a joke about how men are generally the ones that defend women and do activities such as kickboxing.

I think I'm going to repost my status tonight and see if I get more results.

Image Courtesy of

Masculinity = Power?

Apparently it is not okay for men to take sewing classes. The general consensus among men was that those who take sewing classes must be homosexual, or are just plain weird. One man responded to my post saying, "sooooo gay." The response from most women was that they were excited for me or jealous that I was taking a sewing class and they were not. I was accepted by women with comments like, "jealous!!!! I want to learn to sew." I believe women would accept men who like to sew, shop, or get pedicures as friends. In most circles men are not comfortable with other men who do feminine things. Personally, I tend to hang out with people that like the same sports and have the same interests.
It is interesting, women who prove they can do manly things are considered cool. It may be a matter of showing power or dominance. A woman who can surf or skate shows she is more talented and skilled. A man who can sew is seen as weak or womanly. In our society we tend to affiliate things women do with weakness and things men do with power and strength.

Gender Codes

   When I updated my status to say that I was excited to start my sewing class next week, I was not very surprised by the responses I got. Those who know me best know that:
       A. I would never take a sewing class
       B. I would not have the patience for it.
       C. I am not secure enough in my manhood to post to the world that I am taking a sewing class.

Here are some of the responses I got.

women kickboxing = girl power

I only received one comment from my sister in law - That's awesome, go kick some butt. Then I got 2 people to "like" my status, both were females. They agreed with my "choice" and provided motivation. I'm guessing that guys didn't really care. They probably thought, "Cool", but didn't have anything to say that would support or discourage me from it. I was thinking of posting up another hobby that guys generally do, but I didn't want my posts to seem too extreme. But I'm thinking now that I should have to create more controversy. 

Sewing is Cool!!!

I didn't have much activity on this post.... but from the few likes I had and one comment. I think that people thought it was an acceptable thing for me to go do, haha. I don't know if this means people think i'm an arts and craft kind of guy or that sewing is just that cool. The one response that I did have was from one of my neighbors, a girl, and she was excited and wanting to join the class with me. I think that joining a sewing class for a male isn't completely out of the ordinary anymore here at BYU. I think that we would possibly get a different response at other universities though. Due to our culture at this school guys get more involved with activities as a whole than other universities from my experience and talking with friends. I probably really wouldn't go to a sewing class if it was being offered since I wouldn't want to invest time into something that I most likely wouldn't be able to master in a short time. I think that its cool to see how people aren't judging though for something that might be out of the norm of everyday society though.. So my conclusion is, Sewing is Cool!!!

Gender Codes: Cameron Pinegar

I thought the comments I received were not very revealing. For one, only two people commented on my post. I feel like your status in the facebook world becomes less important after you get married. One person, a male, said, "I started sewing a few months ago, it's awesome, I've already made my own pajama pants." In my opinion this comment, as well as the lack of comments, show me that it's not that odd for a man to sew these days. I mean, men do not typically sew, but sewing is not a real head-turner. I believe people who would see my facebook status know I am hetero-sexual and they are not questioning my sexuality when I post a status, so it doesn't really elicit a response, even if the status goes against gender code. When I was in high school it was actually cool for guys to take the sewing class. There were lots of girls in the class and it was a good way to meet girls and impress them. I just don't think that sewing is that weird for a guy. The other comment read, "good for you cam." This comment was posted by my aunt who loves to sew. Again, the comment didn't really teach me much. My aunt obviously does not believe it's weird that I start sewing. If someone close to me in my family is not biting on my odd gender code post then I think it's pretty safe to say that gender codes are being broken down more and more in our society.

Kickboxing Responses-Summer Holm

This was a hard thing to post, because i felt like posting something about kickboxing was just going to elicit responses about gym classes and working out. The comments that i received on my facebook, were all from girls. My husband came home and asked me "um, did someone hack into your facebook because your status says something about kick boxing and you hate the gym..." I felt that his comment was questioning my personal likes and dis-likes rather than my "gender code." As far as the comments from the girls on my post they primarily consisted of encouraging statements like "you go girl" or statements of agreement like "oh i love kickboxing classes!" Overall, i feel like kickboxing isn't an unusual activity for women anymore because practically every gym on earth offers classes and the world of celebrities has made it an acceptable and "cool" work out for anyone. I think that a status update along the lines of "i can't wait to play Halo tonight" may have started a conversation that tapped into "gender codes" a little better.

Kickboxing and Lockdown

In response to my kickboxing status, a couple of guys liked it, one said "ruh oh" and two girls said they wanted to do it with me. I don't feel like I got a response that seemed to distinguish me just because I was a woman who wants to take up kick boxing.

On another note not related to gender, I went to Lagoon this weekend where they have a few haunted houses. One was called Lockdown which had a prison you walked through and freaky prisoners. Outside in the line they played rap music, whose lyrics didn't necessarily have anything to do with prison. Hmmm... Do you think this is just indicative of the genre or do you think its stereotyping?

Discussion of Gender Codes

I'll be honest. I didn't even bother posting a status about kickboxing on my facebook. I knew that none of my friends would find this even slightly out of the ordinary, it would elicit no response, and I would have a silly and untrue status posted on my wall.
I definitely defy "gender codes" regularly. I also think it is a lot easier-and a lot more admirable-for women to participate in "masculine" activities rather than the other way around.

Gender Code-Kickboxing

After I updated my status I receive immediate responses; however, they were only "Likes." Most were girls and only one guy liked the status. I think that those "Like" only meant that they liked the idea of me taking kickboxing. They didn't write anything so I really don't know the reasons, if they might have thought it was good to do it as a "woman," for protection/sport or some other reason. I think that the fact that most "likes" were from women says that females might feel more related to respond to that statement because I am a woman. They might also feel that females don't tend to do those types of activities so they might have liked the idea. Still, they didn't write anything so most are assumptions and suppositions of possible reasons for their "likes."

Kicking some trash

When I posted that I was going into a kickboxing class, I was surprised by all the positive feedback I got. Most of the comments were very supportive, such as "you go girl!" and "boys better look out!", and they were all very go-woman in their responses. It's nice to know that I get support if I want to do more "hard-core" things.

Women in Kickboxing

I didn't receive any comments by friends on my Facebook regarding kickboxing. I think the reason I didn't get a response is because in general, my friends on facebook don't comment on my facebook status updates very often. It would have to be something really thought-provoking or extreme to get a response from my active facebook friends. In class we discussed the idea that its more acceptable for women to want to be included in "men activities" than the other way around. I think women in kickboxing isn't all that uncommon. I feel kickboxing is dubbed the female-alternate to regular boxing. But, I was so desperate to get a comment from a friend, so I asked him what he thought of me starting kickboxing. He said kickboxing could be fun. I then explained it was for an assignment and he suggested maybe Hollywood portrays women in kickboxing a lot. He just felt its not out of the norm for a woman to engage in kickboxing.

Kickboxing

I originally put up "Ashley Johnson is going to take up kickboxing" and I only got one friend who liked it. I figured that was not enough to analyze, so I tried again last night, putting up: "Ashley Johnson is so excited to start kickboxing!" This got a bit more of a response. The only comment I got was from a girl who also liked it. She said "Jealous!! Where?" and had no problem whatsoever with gender codes. Another girl from home liked it as well as a guy from home. Interestingly enough, the guy from home, Tony, actually texted me instead of commenting on my status. "Kickboxing?! so hot" was a little bit surprising to hear from him. I doubt that it was any influence from gender codes, as kickboxing is a perfectly acceptable workout for anyone these days. Considering the broad spectrum of responses, I doubt that current gender codes prohibit girls from doing nearly anything. Looking at the posts by the guys, I think gender codes are currently more biased against guys than girls, partly because of the feminism movements impact on our culture.

Kickboxing

Like many of the other girls I received very little feedback. Several likes, and support from other girls who have kickboxed. One guy commented that I didn't need to take kickboxing, I was aggressive enough. lol I agree with alot of the other posts; kickboxing is not that out of the norm any longer. With phenomenons like Tae Bo I think kickboxing is seen as another exercise class.
I do feel that females have an easier time challenging gender codes then males do. I can imagine if my brothers who are 6'4" and rugged football players posted on their facebooks I'm going to take up sewing the ridcule they'd get from their friends and our own family! All in joking of course, but this a small example of how girls can cross that code with ease compared to males.

The Female Fighter

I received very few comments on my kick-boxing status. At first I was disappointed, thinking that I didn't have much to analyze, but then I realized sometimes the lack of responses says just as much. I don't think people commented because they didn't think that much of it. It's almost the same these days as saying I'm taking up pilates. Girls are much more able to do activities that used to be more male exclusive. The comments I got were mostly from women just either liking my status or saying "sounds fun". The only man that commented said that he likes that form of exercise. I actually used to do kick-boxing exercises with my roommate because they are becoming more common on workout DVDs. Since the 80s, I think women started to care more about exercise with the development of workouts that you could do at home instead of at a gym. It's interesting that some of my friends who didn't actually comment on my wall came up to me and asked why I didn't invite them to do kick-boxing with me. It seems to have grown in popularity just as many activities that used to be dominated by men. Most are being tried by both genders now, despite the typical female stereotypes that women are less athletic. I don't think that anyone that saw my status was concerned for my "frail, weak" female gender code. I believe we have crossed that bridge for women in society. Unfortunately, I still think it is harder for men to go the other way, but progress is still being made. Why do you think women receive less criticism for trying male activities than men do for trying female activities?

Sewing Class

To sew or not to sew? This doesn't appear to be the question. Most of my comments about starting a sewing class were very positive, with some just "liking" the statement, and others telling me to take pictures of anything cool that we sew in the class. Granted, those that thought I was serious don't know me at all, or at least haven't been around me for a long time to remember what I'm like. There were two comments from people who know me real well, my cousin, and a former roommate. The cousin was the only person who responded with a gender coded comment, acting very surprised that I was starting a class, and sort of making fun of me. My former roommate simply asked if that's what happens to guys when they become old fuddy duddy married people. I think this was the most interesting comment I received and the one I'd like to analyze the most. I believe that if I was still single, my post would have elicited a lot more jokes and ridicule from friends. I really feel most would find conducting a sewing class to be a very feminine thing to do. At least that's what I've been socialized to think. However, my friend's comment goes to show that gender codes can change with different life circumstances. Being married now, most people think I've already established my heterosexual ways, so don't really care to make fun of me for starting a sewing class. Also, most people know my wife really does sew, so they may have thought I was just doing this with her. Either way, this little experiment demonstrated that most people were okay with a married man holding a sewing class, but some still embraced the common gender codes.

kickboxing

Like many of the other posts, I also did not get very much feedback after changing my status to "I'm going to take up kickboxing" One lady from back home liked it which reaffirms my belief that it's more acceptable for girls to step outside of their gender codes then it is for men.
One specific example that supports this idea took place during my junior year of high school. One of the girls from my school decided to go out for the football team and she was fully supported by everyone (except for the coach who made a rule that all players must be able to bench press 150llbs before they can play in the games). I feel that girls can more easily swing between gender codes than guys can. For example, all of the guy cheerleaders were constantly made fun of for choosing to take part in a "girl sport"

Kickboxing

I posted to twitter, and I only got two responses. One was from my friend (girl) that said, "maybe you'll be able to beat me in arm wrestling now." Which is pretty unlikely even if I was actually taking kickboxing, and then I got a response from a guy friend simply calling me a "weakling." My post did not elicit any controversial comments. I think that kickboxing isn't really that out of the norm for a girl and therefore it pretty accepted as a workout for either sex. I guess my guy friend did express his concern that I would be too weak to kickbox, but it was more likely that he was just teasing because it is out of my character to take up such a sport.

I heart kickboxing: Emily Jacobsen

My friends weren't the least bit surprised when my status informed them I was taking a kickboxing class.. probably because I do enjoy kickboxing (turbo-kickboxing type of aerobics). I do pilates more than turbo, but both are in the same workout genre and thats the kind of gym rat I am! I love taking the classes at golds gym because there is an instructor (no excuse to say I don't know what to do) and other people in the class (automatic competition)!

Regardless, I do believe that gender codes are very "real", or as real as anything else viral. No matter how many times I ask my boyfriend to come to pilates, he will not come, because it's labelled as feminine. However, I have worked out with him and done his lifting workouts before, and nobody skipped a beat... why the difference? I am not saying that guys always have the most limited spectrum of available activities/styles etc, but I do notice these type of instances a lot. I can wear my hair however, boys have a typical standard. I can wear any color, boys should shy away from pastels (usually). I could not workout and be skinny and be totally socially acceptable, boys often feel obligated to workout or face looking like a pansy. However, I am still marked when I do these things, but the option isn't that or death. There are several scenarios that go the other way. Boys don't have to wear make up, girls feel like we do. Boys can weigh more with less criticism, girl's will be criticized. The list goes on, and the scales keep turning, so I guess its fair to say we have socially constructed gender norms, but quite real they seem.

Taking Up Kickboxing

Brooke Davis I'm going to take up kickboxing!

Chrissie Henley likes this.

Kimberly Davis Bennett AWESOME! Beautiful and Dangerous
Thursday at 7:33pm · LikeUnlike

David J. Vilt Sr. What happened to taking up golf?
23 hours ago · LikeUnlike

Kimberly Davis Bennett Ohhhh I agree with your grandpa Brooke you would be great at golf :-)
23 hours ago · LikeUnlike

Ok, so my status did not elicit a lot of comments. I don't think girls kickboxing is that big of deal now so perhaps people didn't feel the need to comment. My aunt is my biggest supporter of doing ANYTHING outside of gender norms (like riding motorcycles and playing sports with the boys) so I knew she would comment..."Beautiful and Dangerous." Good old grandpa though would like me to stick to a more tame form of excercise. Although I think golf would be more male dominated, he liked it better than kickboxing! All in all, I don't think that anyone would look down to a girl excercising with kickboxing because it is quite common today. There are female kickboxing instructors at the gym and it is not a big deal!

Maybe I Will Take Up Kickboxing Now...

The responses I got from my status were pretty much what I was expecting. It wouldn't be too out there for a girl to want to take kickboxing classes; it could even be really cool. Everyone who commented on my status were girls. Three girls clicked that they 'liked' my status and two girls commented saying that it was "totally WICKED!!!" and one wanted to come with me.

It seems like that idea of female empowerment. Boys probably didn't feel the need to comment because a lot of girls do things that are deemed as male activities and seem more aggressive. It's really common. It was the girls that commented probably just because of a societal norm to support girls in their efforts to gain more power. That being said, it actually seems like a fun idea so I kind of want to take a class or something now! :) I'm interested to hear how more of the guys in the class fared with their statuses.

Kickboxing

My status did not elicit any surprised responses or questions to me regarding why I have a desire to start kickboxing. It is not uncommon for women to do activities that are generally more directed at men. I do have friends that are girls who are boxers, so it is common enough that it does not shock people. It was interesting thought that one of my friends assumed that I made my status about kickboxing because I must be upset at a guy. His comment was, “Some boy gone and ticked you off huh…fool don’t even know he in danger.” When girls say that they like more male-oriented activities, it often gives the impression that she wants to be tough and powerful too. She does not want to be over-looked or stepped on. She is equal and capable with keeping up with the guys.

In general, the responses that I received made it seem that people, especially men, do not think it is strange for women to start kickboxing. In fact, most of them thought it was cool. The guys mostly responded by just saying they liked it and girls gave motivating “girl-power” comments, such as “oh yeah, a woman that can Kickbox! You Go!!”

Male=Power

Most of the comments I got were boys saying I should do it. I don't know if it was a joke or not, but I have always been rather sporty so I don't think it surprised anyone. This being said, I think that girls are judged less when they do "male oriented" activities than boys do when they do "female oriented" activities. Like we were talking about in class, I think this is because often male oriented activities have power attached with them. It is understandable for women to do male oriented activities to gain power, but not for men to give up power by doing female oriented activities. Why then do male activities have power associated with them in the first place?