Florida Atlantic Gender and Sex in Our Society
How do we come to define gender and sex in our society?
What impact do these classifications have on our understanding of:
femininity, masculinity, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and transgender identities?
Ego Boosters and Ego Busters Questions
Discuss someone you know or once knew that was an “Ego Booster”. Someone who helped enhance your self-esteem by acting in a way that made you feel accepted, competent, worthwhile, important, appreciated, or loved. This person needn’t have played a crucial role in your life as long as the role was positive. Often your self-concept is shaped by many tiny nudges as well as by a few giant events.
Now discuss an “Ego Buster” from your life. This is someone who acted in a large or small way to reduce your self-esteem. As with Ego Booster messages, Ego Buster messages aren’t always intentional. The acquaintance who forgets your name after you’ve been introduced or the friend who yawns while you are describing an important problem can diminish your feelings of self-worth.
Now that you have thought about how others have shaped your self-concept, discuss a time when you were an Ego Booster to someone else…a time when you intentionally or unintentionally boosted another’s self-esteem. Do not merely settle for an instance in which you were nice. Look for a time when your actions left another person feeling valued, loved, needed etc.…
Next discuss a recent instance when you were an Ego Buster to someone else. What did you do or say to diminish another’s self-esteem? Were you aware of your behavior at the time? Be honest.