"This is just like Daddy's!"

from: Nikki

So, when I heard about this assignment, I honestly had no idea what Iwas going to do. Take a picture that tells a story about the socialization of gender? I didn't quite understand. Wikipedia describes socialization as "the process of learning one's culture and how to live within it." So basically, the socialization of gender is the whole ideal that girls must wear pink, and play house and pretend to be "Mommy" for the baby doll, while boys run around and play with
trucks and play tools.

"This is just like Daddy's!" are the exact words that little Steffy said, referring to the Cool Tools, right before I took her picture. Coincidentally, that was the exact reason that I wanted them when I was little -- they were just like my Daddy's. Never mind the strange looks I got from my cousins, I was happy because I had tools just like Daddy's! (Of course, I also was the girl who had Hot Wheels and got my little brothers to play Barbie with me, suppose I wasn't as fully socialized by gender as others were)

The bright colors of the tool set draw your eyes to it when you first look at the picture. They create a contrast to Steffy's pastel doll house and dresses which are coincidentally the stereotypical "girl" colors. Because the colors are so bright, you're eyes aren't just drawn to it first, they are drawn to it over and over again as you look over the picture. That, coupled along with fact that it is a "boy" toy, creates a jarring image, when it shouldn't be so. Kids should be allowed to play with whatever toys they want to.