Paula Hoke Interview, History 150 Spring 2017, conducted by David Hoke, March 9th, 2017.

 

Overview

The following interview was conducted face-to-face in a quiet room with all the doors closed to block out any unnecessary noise. There was no editing done to the recording, although the audio may sound a little soft, which is due to the distance between us and the audio recorder, which was placed at a fair distance between us.

Biography 

The interviewee is my mother, Paula Hoke. She was born in the 1960s and grew up in Ankeny, Iowa with her parents, sister, and two brothers; she is the eldest of her siblings. After graduating highschool, she went to Iowa State University and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in physical therapy. She moved to Virginia Beach, where she met and married my father. Together they raised four children, myself included, and have lived in Virginia for 26 years. She is currently employed at Sentara Physical Therapy, as an assistant physical therapist. The interview will touch upon her experiences growing up as a woman as society was evolving into the 21st century.

Research 

Within the past 40 years, gender roles in society have taken on a change to where women are more capable of doing things that they couldn’t do before. Many more women are able to graduate and take on professional level jobs in the real world rather than become stay-at-home mothers. Most of this change largely has to do with time. Social movements that have occurred helped to contribute to change over the years, and every year that goes by is an additional step that gender roles take. Stereotypes of how things used to be are now contested with today’s standards, and more opportunities to success help the growing society.

References

Donnelly, K., Twenge, J. M., Clark, M. A., Shaikh, S. K., Beiler-May, A., & Carter, N. T. (2016). Attitudes Toward Women’s Work and Family Roles in the United States, 1976–2013. Psychology Of Women Quarterly, 40(1), 41-54. doi:10.1177/0361684315590774

Garcia-Retamero, R., Müller, S. M., & López-Zafra, E. (2011). The Malleability of Gender Stereotypes: Influence of Population Size on Perceptions of Men and Women in the Past, Present, and Future. Journal Of Social Psychology, 151(5), 635-656.

Interview – For this interview, I will be substituting myself as DH and my mother as PH

DH: Okay, so would you like to go ahead and give a brief bio of yourself?

PH: Um, My name is Paula Hoke, I am.. 51 years old, and I am from Ankeny, Iowa. And I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia and I’ve been here for.. 26 years.

DH: Okay. Um, So I guess we could go ahead and start off, um, so what was it like growing up back then?

PH: Back in Iowa, um, I lived in a small town. Um, and my mom and my da– my dad worked, and my mom stayed home, and it was, I was the oldest of four children. Um, went to school, and played sports, and.. and just was being a kid.

DH: Um, so what was it like growing up in your family?

PH: Um, well being the oldest, I– there was expectations of me, you know, doing the right thing and leading the way and being the responsible one. So..

DH: Um, would you say you were treated equally among your siblings?

PH: Um, for the most part. I might have had more expectations, just being the oldest and kind of being the one to– I mean I was kind of the one that kind of took care, or help take care of my siblings because I was the oldest. So..

DH: Um, so like with your parents everything was basically like… kind of “by-the-book” almost?

PH: Right, right. They, I mean, yeah. They had strict rules and curfews, to be home on time, and if you didn’t you got in trouble, and that kind of thing so..

DH: Did your siblings ever treat you any differently?

PH: Um, no, I wouldnt say that. I mean, my sister and I were 16 months apart so we were very close and did a lot of the same things, and then my brothers were younger, so we pretty much, you know, looked out for them, and.. raised them, so..

DH: I mean I’m sure there was the whole, like, “sibling rivalries”, as usual.

PH: Right, exactly, I mean there was the.. but for the most part we all got along.

DH: Um, so like, going back to, uh, how your parents raised you, were there any specific [gender] rules they taught you to follow?

PH: Um, well just, you know, the basic ones of being honest and, you know… being a good student. Wanting us to, you know, be successful in life and go to college and work. So..

DH: So it’s just like the average family?

PH: Yeah, kind of like what you see today.

DH: Um, So you said you played uh sports, which one was that?

PH: I played— my sister and I played softball. And then I played basketball and track as well.

DH: um, how were sports gendered when you were growing up?

PH: Um, well they, I mean they— when I grew up, in high school they had, you know, girls and boys sports. Um, and probably just as many girls sports as there were guys. So um, you know, like softball for girls and baseball for boys, there was girls and boys track. Um, I mean they had tennis and golf, but um, like I know we didn’t have soccer like they do here. Um, or field hockey for that matter, those were sports I didn’t know existed until I moved out here. So it just wasn’t a sport that we played.

DH: So just like because of where you’re from, they didn’t have those kinds of sports?

PH: Right, yeah, just our area didn’t have it. I mean they have it now, but it wasn’t a sport I grew up with.

DH: So, when you played basketball were there any differences that you noticed between like, women’s and basketball, or was it just about the same?

PH: There was. Um, women’s was half-court. You, like, um defense was on one end of the court and offense was on the other. Um, versus men’s sports, you know, you played the full court, and women’s was not. So it was played totally different. Um, you know, it was the three-dribbles, you had to pass the ball, it wasn’t a continuous dribble it was just a totally different game.

DH: Was there a specific reasoning you couldn’t use the whole court, or was that just the way it was?

PH: Uh, that was just the way girls played basketball, yeah. In fact there was, I remember, um, I don’t know if it was one of your sisters had an author come to school like in second grade that wrote a book about women’s basketball. Um, and it was the way that we played when I grew up. So um, and she thought I was really old because it was– that they don’t play that way anymore, I mean they play full-court now, but it was just a different way of playing the game.

DH: Did you ever want to play the whole court? Or just..

PH: Yeah, I always wondered why we didn’t play it like the boys did, but, you know, it was just– that’s the way we learned it and the way we played it.

DH: Just kind of stuck with it? Didn’t really question it?

PH: Yeah. Didn’t question it it was just the way it was played.

DH: Um, so going back to all the growing up and stuff, uh, have you ever attended or participated in a social movement, like a march or a protest?

PH: Um, I can’t say that I have um, I mean I remember, you know, talking about certain things, like, you know there’d be– I remember kind of when the women’s rights kind of came out and, um, there were no real movements or anything.

DH: Near your area?

PH: Yeah, near our area. But um, I just remember thinking that was kind of a neat thing that that was coming about. Um, just that women’s equality, um, but I did go.. when I was in college, um, I attended the inauguration, I think it was the first, um, first Bush.

DH: H.W.?

PH: Yeah, H.W. Bush, I went to his um, inauguration in Washington D.C. I had done an internship out there and, it was the year he was inaugurated so, I went to that.

DH: So what was that like?

PH: Um, it was quite an experience. There was a lot of people, more people than I have ever been around when I was in Iowa so um..

DH: Was it kind of like a mixed crowd?

PH: It was, there was um, people from all over and um, I just remember being basically in a people jam, you know, it wasn’t– instead of being stuck in a car you know, like everybody is walking and it’s shoulder to shoulder and you’re just getting kind of pushed along, um, which was kind of crazy and scary but it was just one of those things you experience, so..

DH: Um, have you ever experienced any discrimination against women in your life?

PH: Um, I can’t say as– no. Yeah nothing overtly seen. Um, you know, probably growing up seeing more um, women in just your typical jobs as far as teachers, nurses, that kind of thing. Um, but nothing, you know, at the time I felt was discriminatory. Um, it was just kind of it was what it was, you know. Those were kind of the jobs that, you know, women were supposed to do. Um, yeah, so I can’t say that I have.

DH: Going back to the whole uh, women’s rights and all the movements that were happening, was there any movement that you uh, wish you kind of had gone to or thought about going to?

PH: Um, no, because I guess I never felt that strongly about issues. I mean, I think at that time I just– it wasn’t um.. I just kind of was uh, kind of “go with the flow” kind of kid and um, you know, if it didn’t affect me I didn’t worry about it. So um, yeah. So no I didn’t.

DH: You were just happy that it kind of happened?

PH: Right, yeah.

DH: Um, so moving onto uh, the workplace.. uh, so where do you currently work?

PH: I work at um, Sentara Physical Therapy, its an outpatient facility.

DH: Um, what is the gender ratio like in your current workplace?

PH: Um, right now we have one male, and the rest are all female.

DH: Is he treated any differently from your co-workers?

PH: No, not really, but he does probably get– you know, we kind of joke on him just because he is our token male in the workplace. But um, it’s not in a bad way. Um, you know, he’s just as respected as a physical therapist as the rest of the people that are there, so..

DH: Um, have you ever heard the term, uh, called the “Glass-Ceiling”?

PH: I have, yes.

DH: Um, I guess for the sake of the interview, uh the term “Glass Ceiling” refers to the point uh, beyond which a women don’t get promoted. Um, so going back to that mom, um, do you think this exists, uh, like have you seen it from your current experiences or do you uh, believe its more of an urban myth?

PH: Um, I think in certain situations, probably certain environments, I think in the business world it might be, um, more of a possibility. Um, in my workplace setting, I know, um I have been considered for a management position for um, a clinic that we’re um, currently talking about splitting up. Um, but I know that because I’m not a physical therapist, I’m a physical therapist assistant, um, I know there’s hesitation in having me, you know, be in a managerial position, when even though despite I’ve been there, I’ve have the years of experience. Um, but because of my education– it’s more because of my education versus um, my gender, I would say.

DH: So it’s, like a more balanced kind of workplace?

PH: Right, right.

DH: Um, so have you had experience working under a male and female boss before? Like have you worked in a job where there was a male boss and then, uh, with your current workplace there is a female boss–

PH: Right, yeah.

DH: Um, so.. What were they like? Like what was it like working under a male boss?

PH: Um, I mean the male bosses I’ve had in the past um, I think are just very um, I mean I haven’t had any negative experience, I mean they’re pretty much “play-by-the-rules” and you know, as long as you do your job and, you know, there’s expectations. Meet the expectations, you know, there’s no issue, but if you violate any of that, there’s consequences. Um, and I would say the same for the female, um, female managers that I’ve worked under, same thing. You know, there’s that level of respect, you know, for…

DH: Um, are there any noticeable similarities or differences between a male and a female boss from your experiences?

PH: Um, I think in general the, I would have to say from, you know the females that I’ve worked with, I think there’s a little more understanding for, you know, people that have to ask off for various reasons. Um, especially when it comes to childcare or something like that, I think they’re a little more understanding. Um, and, you know um, and I, you know, I’m trying to think with the men that I’ve worked with as far as, you know, asking for time off I think it’s more, just, and this was when I was younger. Um, it was just more kind of a matter of fact, you know, either it was approved or it wasn’t approved. It wasn’t, you know, they didn’t really take into consideration why, you know, what the reasoning was behind it. It was just kind of, if they had enough coverage to–

DH: If it managed to work it could?

PH: Yeah. That kind of thing. So it was just, more matter of fact versus, or you know, depending on if they had enough coverage, if they had enough people working that day or if there wasn’t. You got it, and if there wasn’t enough people, you didn’t. So.. It wasn’t because, oh because you have X, Y, or Z to do. They didn’t take, kind of, you know, take into consideration what the reasoning was. So..

DH: So, uh with the evolving amount of gender roles that have, uh been rising up in society nowadays, what would you say, from your experiences, uh, are some big differences from like back then when you were growing up. Like what were the gender roles like when you were growing up versus how they are now?

PH: Um, well I know growing up, my parents, um, my mom stayed home, and there were a lot of moms in the neighborhood that stayed home and that the dads worked. Um, so it was the typical, you know, mom raising the kids and the dad making the living. Um, and it was just kind of that expectation at that time, um, whereas nowadays, you know, its both sets of parents that are working, um and I think it’s more– and even back then too, I think, you know, my mom probably did the brunt of the childcare and taking care of the kids versus my dad just did, you know, he wasn’t as participatory in what our activities were, whereas I see, you know, as nowadays, you know I think it’s both sets of parents are just as involved. So.. So I think that part is different.

DH: So he was more invol– he was more involved with helping out with the kids when he was back home from work?

PH: Um, not as much as what– I mean he was.. Um, but I mean like he would go to, like if we had softball games he would go to the games, but it wasn’t like he was the one taking us to practice or picking us up. You know that was my mom’s– my mom’s job. Um, versus, you know, I think nowadays you see the parents kind of work it out, like one will pick up and the other takes, that kind of thing, so they share that role versus back then it was just kind of my mom’s responsibility, to take care of all that, so..

 

DH: Um.. I’m trying to think of anything else that I would want to add.. Um, I mean, that pretty much covers everything. Uh, well thank you very much for being a part of this interview.

PH: You’re welcome.

DH: Alright, and that’s a wrap!

Conclusion

Overall the interview went well. There was a minor mishap with the recording when I attempted the test interview, which was scrapped and the second try (the current recording) is the one being used. The conversation remained on the topic of gender and had only minor flip-flop moments for the subtopics I was intending to discuss. The questions used helped to promote detailed responses when needed, and provided me with information that I could then put to use.