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I don't have a whole lot of photos of me growing up but these are just some of the ones I have that showcase how I was while growing up and what type of gender role was placed upon me

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I was about 4 in this picture, majority of my baby pictures you see me wearing feminine clothing or colors that are associated with being a girl, mainly pink, and wearing jewelry like bangles on my wrists and earrings, always having my hair done with bows in, overall a girly appearance.

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as mentioned before, in all my baby pictures you see me wearing what could be considered as feminine clothing along with bangles on my wrist and bows in my hair which I believe falls along the lines of being girly.

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once again seen in all pink, bangles on my arms, hair done up and hoop earrings in, which I consider to be feminine.

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this is me on my 20th birthday! wearing a purse, a dress, hair curled, lashes done, nails done and lipgloss on. these are all things I do now that makes me feel more feminine and pretty as a woman, I used to hate wearing dresses and purses and got reprimanded for it so as I was growing up I felt it was mandatory to do these things to be feminine but as I grow up I love doing these things but I realize they are still associated with femininity.

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this is a recent picture of me, I still love curling my hair and getting my nails and lashes done, I felt very feminine within myself when taking this picture and I personally love doing these things to serve my gender identity.

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a significant moment of gender awareness 

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a significant moment of gender awareness 

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around the time I was 10, one of my moms friends made a comment about how I don't dress like a girl and I don't wear purses like how I should and I heard this all while growing up which lead me to believe I wasn't feminine/girly enough and left me questioning what I would have to do to be considered more feminine in other peoples eyes, when in reality this is nothing a 10 year old should have to hear or deal with, kids should be able to wear whatever they like and do whatever they please when it comes to their gender identity, you shouldn't buy your kids certain colors or specific toys cause they're associated with the gender of your child.

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from what I understand, intersectionality refers to overlapping parts of your identity when different segments of your identity bump into one another. Black woman are often seen as loud, ghetto, argumentative and non-agreeable, as a black woman I am none of these stereotypes but they still make me question how people will see me if I wear my hair a certain way or I say something that's not pleasant to the masses, will they label me as an "angry black woman" "ghetto" "loud"? these stereotypes have an effect on how I dress, talk and act on a daily basis even though I know I am none of those things I feel like I have to be careful to not be seen as these stereotypes. other than that I don't feel as I've had any intersectionality within myself causing conflict.

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Gilligans gender identity development theory and how it relates to me 

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Gilligans gender identity development theory and how it relates to me 

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Gilligans gender identity development theory is a theory developed by carol Gilligan that states, the core of identity development rests within the mother-child relationship, the female child connects and finds gender identity within the mother but the male child must find identity by separating himself from the female caregiving, male development stresses separation and independence and female identity evolves around interconnectedness and relationship. As I've grown up I notice that my mother had a lot of influence on my appearance and she still does. She used to dress me from ages 1-8 and used to put me in the most girliest outfits, pink, hair in bows, bracelets on arms, she used to buy me barbie and bratz dolls and encouraged a more feminine role for my life. My understanding of gender comes from my mother, she taught me that women always wear jewelry, never leave the house looking "a mess", always wear lipgloss and other basic feminine actions. I still do all these things as I'm in my 20s now, in fact I would say im leaning more into my femininity as I get older because I feel as if it just aligns with who I am and who I've grown into. I can't determine if my gender identity and the way I express it would be any different if I would've grown up with my dad instead of my mother but one can only assume without that feminine presence I would not be the same woman I am today.