from: Samantha
Having grown up with two older sisters and an older brother I always had a variety of toys to play with. Trucks, balls, dolls, makeup, etc. My parents never pushed certain toys on me but a lot of parents do, without realizing it. If you meet a toddler boy you may see him with a Hot Wheel or football. In meeting a girl you may see her with a Barbie or makeup set. If people were to see a boy playing with a doll or a girl with a truck they tend to ask why they are playing with that, as if children must play with particular toys. With this photograph my two year old nephew was choosing what he wanted to play with. Surprisingly he picked up both toys. What you do not see is that after he picked them up he went over to my female cousin and gave her the doll while he kept the football. Is this because his parents always bought him basketballs and footballs, never dolls, or because he already has a sense of what toys and girls are "supposed" to play with? Our class book's percentages say that at two more than half of children show "gender self-labeling" and almost half show the "labeling of friends" (Pg. 178), in this case my cousin. Other photos I took showed him playing basketball and his bedroom but I chose this picture because of what action followed. My nephew knows what gender he is but what causes him, or any other child, to choose specific things?
2 comments:
I totally agree with what was said abut this. I grew up with 6 sisters and 2 brothers so looking back now when i was little we all shared the same toys. Yes i had tons of Barbies and makeup sets like my sisters, and my brothers had their footballs and GI Joes but it wasn't looked down upon if we happened to share the same once in awhile. I think society has placed such a limited range on how each gender can act, dress, choose their toys, and so forth. Who are the culprits? Parents, television, school, etc. I think if a girl wants to play with a GI Joe she should go for it. If women can fight in the war then why not allow our young girls to play with figurines that don't just exemplify one gender but both. Does it really matter if a girl wants to throw a football or if a boy wants to play with a doll? It doesn't make them less of a person if they do. I think ultimately we only need to worry about the safety of our children and making sure that the toys they have aren't harmful. Nothing else should matter. Learning to express oneself is so important and the children of today are not being allowed to do this if they constantly are being told which toy is for them.
Looking at this picture, it reminds me of myself when I was younger. My mom was 19 when she had me and is a very laid back person and has always given me my freedom. When she would go to the toy store, she would pick out stuff that was intentionally made for a boy or girl and would buy me both. My favorite cartoon growing up was the teenage mutant ninja turtles and my mom always let me wear my favorite turtles underwear(and of course they were boys). Now being 19 myself, I am a pretty normal even though I played with toys that were meant for boys.
Post a Comment