Ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic roots

Ethnic

When one hears the word "Minnesota" in reference to nationality, more than likely the country of Germany will be the first country of origin considered. This may be a misnomer, considering that "German" immigrants coming to this Midwestern state were from either Germany or one of the Germanic nations where they speak German. This includes today's Luxembourg, Austria, Bohemia, and parts of Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia. During the mid-1800s, the part of Europe now considered "Germany" consisted of smaller states controlled by princes. These were later headed by empires that allowed little or no political power to remain in the hands of the princely leaders. By the 1870s, a united German state was finally created by Otto von Bismarck. However, in the years that followed, the boundaries of this state would continue to change.

My mother's parents said they came from Germany. I'm assuming that they actually meant the country, not one of the smaller nation states. They were married in Germany and then came the U.S. In the 1850s as a better place to raise their children. Back in Europe, large numbers of farmers were moving into the cities, and the jobs were becoming increasingly few. The political situation in Germany added to their concern. They chose Minnesota, since it already had a sizeable number of Germanic settlers, and they had been receiving letters from other family members for several years. They settled in the southern part of the state and worked in a bakery. Eventually, they took the bakery over. They brought with them traditions such as the Christmas tree and many of the foods we still eat today. Because there were many Germans already living here, they fit in quite quickly. However, they did not prosper as they would have hoped.

These were my maternal grandparents. My paternal grandparents did not arrive in the U.S. until about 25 years later. They came from Ireland and stayed in New York. Although that makes me 50% German/Irish, I have never felt out of place here in Minnesota. My coloring is not as fair as others with purely German background, but pretty close to it. My father's parents came to Minnesota when he was a young boy to look for work, away from the Eastern cities. Some Germans who live in this area were shunned or even made to leave their homes during WWII. We are fortunate that did not happen to my grandparents and parents. However, I have heard stories about how difficult it was for them at this time even though they were strong supporters of the U.S.

My parents know some of their native languages, but I have not learned much of it. I'm sorry to think that I will not be teaching these languages to my children. We still join other family members and friends in this area for the German and Irish holiday traditions, although most of the time they have a good mixture of the U.S. holidays as well.

I have two brothers who are older than I am. When I was growing up, both my parents and grandparents treated me somewhat differently than my brothers. There were some distinct variances in chores around the house and expectations in school and behavior. This was difficult for me to take, and we had many arguments while I was growing up. I did not see how I was any different than them; the only time I liked it was when they had more work to do outside in the barn than I did on the weekends. Public school was pretty conservative; although the teachers said they treated both genders equally, I noticed some differences on who was assigned to do what. Naturally, the sports were also mostly different between the boys and girls, as well as other outside interests. I'm quite independent now and do not plan on showing differences between my children when I have them.

My brothers both worked on outside chores, and I had to help my mother around the house. I had to make meals, clean the house and do other "womanly" things. My brothers worked with my father in the garage and barn, fixing up the car and equipment. They also got to spend a lot more time playing outside than I did. When we became old enough to work outside of the home, they went to a job and I did not.

Other activities were also different for us. They went to more of the athletic events and played more sports. As a result, they spent more time with my father growing up, and I with my mother. I had music lessons, girl scouts and tennis lessons. They went out on dates a few years before I did. My father was pretty strict about who I could see and how late I could stay out. Ironically, however, I am the one who ended up going to college, and they both got jobs right out of high school. I have a lot of ideas planned for when I graduate, and they plan on staying near home and raising their families. Although we still joke that we were raised differently, I'm quite sure that they will raise their children in a similar way as they were.

Both my parents are very emotionally strong individuals. They do not show their emotions, although I know they love me and my brothers very much. I have inherited this introversion to a large extent. I am not as physically demonstrative as other women I have met. That does not mean that I care any less; I just do not show it as much. I would like my children to be more open and caring toward each other and hope that I can instill this in them. As noted, I do not want to raise my children with as many gender differences as I had while growing up. Especially in today's generation, there is no reason for such a distinction.

Because of that, I probably will not marry a man who has a different concept of gender treatment than I do. I cannot imagine living in a situation as my mother did, with my father being responsible for specific tasks and her others. I believe that a relationship should be shared, and each parent doing all of the tasks from washing dishes to plowing the snow (and we get a lot of that!). There are so many opportunities for both boys and girls now, that I would hate for any of my children to lose out because of their gender.