My family was a middle class family, we were not rich, but we were not poverty stricken either. My childhood was filled with happy times, such as family and social gatherings. We went to church every Sunday, which was usually followed by big a family dinner. When I think back on those times, there was never a dull moment. As children the only responsibilities we had were to keep our rooms clean, do well in school, and take care of our 4-H animals. Other than that we just enjoyed being kids. My father always said to "enjoy your childhood, because when you become an adult you will have to work for everything you have." .
I think that my understanding of self and gender began when I was about 10 or 11 and I realized that most of my girlfriends we into wearing dresses and hair ribbons and such. I was kind of a tom-boy up until that time so I was usually in jeans with my hair pulled back into a pony tail. I wanted to be like the other girls and wear pretty dresses and such, so that was the time that I became a little more interested in the girlie things, I would also have to say that that was the roll that gender stereotypes played in my development. I am afraid that didn't last long, because the tom-boy in me found jeans and a t-shirt much more comfortable, and a lot easier to feed my calf in, after all I was a farm girl. That doesn't mean that I still didn't put a frilly dress on once in a while, but usually just for church and special occasions. Although my mother said there were times that she felt like she had two sons instead of one, because I wasn't exactly prissy. .
My parents never encouraged me to play with any certain types of toys or participate in any specific types of activities. We were encouraged to do whatever we were interested in, within reason, and to always finish what we started. They didn't make me play with dolls or play hop scotch, they let me do what I enjoyed doing.