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From: Fune
I have two younger siblings, a 10 going-on 11 year old brother and a 10 year old sister, named Jadon and Hillary. Both are noisy, energetic, curious, and always keep me on my toes with their questions and playful behavior. Taking them out to parks or to the store to get snacks is always a treat for the three of us. But when I began to fully understand how gendered childhood was I was surprised, but when I realized I was playing into it I was taken aback. Growing up, my brother and sister were very close, almost inseparable. They loved the same shows, games, food, toys, and everything you could imagine. But as they got older, their interests started to diverge, my younger brother started getting into Pokémon, Fortnite, and Naruto while my sister started learning how to use makeup, do her hair, and paint her nails. When costume shopping for Halloween, my brother would always race to the boys side to look for the coolest weapons and “warrior” costumes while my sister would choose between being a witch or a princess. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I too was raised in the idea that “boys should do boy things” and “girls should do girl things” separate from each other. I always knew the toys children played with would affect their growth and reading The Two Cultures of Childhood only reaffirmed this. But somehow I didn’t see it apply to my younger siblings, kids who did nearly everything together.
In my image I laid out their clothes and toys, symbolic of who they are and how our society’s idea of gender has affected them growing up. My sister’s side of the display consisted of her bright pink jacket, her navy blue shirt adorned with a smiling sloth holding onto a delicate tree branch, and topped off with her doll resting above the pocket. On the other side, my brother’s black coat covering his blue graphic t-shirt topped off with the sword and mask from his Halloween costume. In the middle, their sleeves join, representing their connectedness. I chose a top-down perspective as if they were posing for the picture looking at the clothes that expressed their identities, but I also chose this top-down perspective because it’s a top-down analysis of the gendered stereotypes they’ve been guided into as children. Another technique I chose is with the clothing chosen, they functionally have the same outfits but are completely different with the only unifying characteristic being the blue shirts within each jacket representing the similarities in their personalities and character. My use of these techniques is an attempt to play on the viewers emotions, using those clothes as a template for the young children in their lives, and to analyze how their clothing and toys make an impact on them, however inconsequential they may seem.
However, touching back to The Two Cultures of Childhood the darker side of the gender stereotypes are established. The cheap plastic sword my brother chose for his Halloween costume is evident of how boys are socialized to be more aggressive and violent, often leading into conflicts (Rudman 62). On the other side, my sister’s doll is evident of how girls are socialized to be caretakers, promoted through the grooming, accessorizing, and care of their dolls (Rudman 61). Competition and aggression are instilled in young boys while girls are socialized to be more submissive, cooperative, and express aggression and conflict not through personal means but through “indirect, relational, or social” methods (Rudman 61-62). The segregation of childhood through gendered means leads to devastating consequences. The promotion of aggression in boys leads to men overwhelmingly being the offender in violent crimes, with women often being the victim. As we proceed through our lives, it’s necessary to take a critical look at how the children in our lives are being influenced by the world around us and to do our best to make sure they can express themselves in positive and healthy ways free of the restrictions of the gender binary.
Works Cited
Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of Childhood." The Social Psychology of
Gender:
How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. The Guilford
Press,
2015, 59-63
2 comments:
From Julia
I first want to start off with how awesome your photo looks. Good job! In your photo I can also see how you used the creative technique of similarities and differences. Although it is clear there are jackets on both sides, the colors of the jackets and what is placed on them are vastly different. One jacket is pink, the other blue; one has a doll, the other a sword. There are even different colored pillow cases on both sides, the one with what looks like pink flowers clearly made for a girl, the one with a plain color made for a boy. That shows that even items as simple as pillows can be gendered. Symbolism is also obviously used in your photo. On the girls side, the doll and stuffed toy could symbolize how girls are supposed to be the caretakers. The doll could also symbolize how girls are supposed to be concerned with their beauty, even from a young age, while on the other hand, a boy’s only concern is to be tough and aggressive, symbolized by the sword on the left.
From Arden:
Hi Fune,
Your photo shows a strong depiction of your points towards the aspects of children’s clothes and gendered toys influencing their personalities and interests. I also did an essay about children’s clothes which I appreciate you including children’s clothes as an example of society constructing their identities. I appreciate the idea of portraying the same type of clothes as an example, for instance, how jackets are worn and work for the same purpose, yet you see both jackets designed by gender showing which jacket is considered a boy or girl. Looking inside the jacket, you notice prints that we recognize in gendered clothing, such as the “champion” logo we tend to find from the boy’s section, and the fact that girl’s t-shirts provide prints of adorable cartoon characters that are smiling and acting innocent. There are plenty of clothes that have the same function and yet are gendered. Along with the clothes, and toys I can see them as a symbol because it shows a distinction between the type of toys that are gendered. The sword itself as a masculine-like object is what society considers a boy’s toy, and the doll itself as a feminine-like object is what society also considers a girl’s toy. Overall, the two jackets holding hands or sleeves together, I find it sweet to know that your siblings still play and interact with each other regardless of their identity, since there are some groups of kids who tend to exclude certain kids, like how a group of boys will exclude a girl from their group. Rudman’s article was very eye-opening and showed a lot of perspectives on the ways society constructed children's clothing and especially assigned style and fashion.
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