from: Brittany
This picture is of my niece given the option to play with a football or to play with a doll. She obviously chose the doll. This picture shows the socialization of gender in children by the pure fact that she chose the doll. My niece already by the age of 3 knows that girls play with dolls and boys play balls. Even with the option of playing with a nontraditional looking football, one that is red, a bit more feminine color, she still chose the doll. If you look at the doll she is wearing very common things that most little girls wear which might have helped her pick the doll because he has some of those things like the long hair and the PINK bathing suit. This too shows the socialization of gender in children because they are going to play with what they can relate with or feel comfortable with and the doll is just like a typical little girl in the way she dressed. If the doll had not been so common in the way she resembles a little girl there might have been more difficulty in choosing which toy. My niece knew I swear in like 5 seconds which she wanted to play with. The fact that she chose the doll over the football all on her own shows that even if parents don't mean to force gender on their children it happens because she knew without a doubt that she wanted the doll and with no hesitation. This picture shows that not only is gender forced upon children but the things they play with because they too are geared towards genders like the doll and the football.
2 comments:
I think this picture shows a great deal of how a young girl such as your niece of this age is greatly influenced by gender socialization. We as a society are unconsciously “educating” our younger generation to become gendered and it is clearly shown in your picture.
I like the experiment, however, i wonder if it would differ if the child was asked the same question at an earlier age. Perhaps an age before they are capable of making the decisions on whether things are for girls or boys. Would it also differ if the doll had boys clothes on....like camo? Maybe you were right when you said shw might gear towards the doll because their clothes are similar. Maybe children at that age relate to what they recognize first, and then the boy/girl aspect comes in later.
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