Priorities

 From: Sophia

Laurie Rudman’s “The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood” explains that children’s toys are heavily gendered and reinforce gender roles in children from very young ages. This photograph I took aims to show how some of these gender schemas taught to us by these toys stick with us and carry over into adulthood. Many toys for young women encourage women to act in a stereotypically feminine way, and encourage boys to act in a stereotypically masculine way (Rudman 61). Women are often given Barbie dolls, Polly Pockets, or miniaturized makeup kits, which can teach them to look up to idealized, unrealistically beautiful women, and plant the idea in their heads that they need makeup to be or feel beautiful. I centered the makeup and beauty products in this image to show that they are the most important thing in the photograph.

The article also states that “Gender schemas become part of self-identity, influencing children’s preferences, attitudes, and behavior as they strive to act in socially appropriate masculine or feminine ways” (Rudman, 59). Guitar playing is another activity that is seen as more masculine than feminine. The music industry, especially in genres like rock, is dominated by men, and women can sometimes feel discouraged from learning to play instruments that are viewed as masculine like guitar, bass, and drums, for fear that they will be perceived as less feminine. I am a guitar player myself, and it is one of my favorite things to do. I had to beg my parents for months to get me a guitar for my birthday, while my brother was given a drum kit for his birthday that he didn’t ask for and never plays. Even our parents, who we can sometimes see as unable to do wrong, can fall victim to the very same societal norms that we do. I asked myself while preparing to take this photograph, “Is creativity more important to me than beauty?” I would like to be able to tell you that it is, but because of the way women are taught to behave and think about themselves, I still find myself valuing my appearance over my intelligence or musical abilities. I placed the capo, tuner, and pick off to the side, and underexposed them to show that creativity in women can be overshadowed by their subconscious need to adhere to beauty standards. Even the guitar pick itself is inside a necklace, showing that the need to dress myself up in a very feminine way outweighs the desire to be seen as intelligent or creative.

The last creative technique I used in this photograph was the way the objects were placed. I wanted to show the beauty products haphazardly strewn across my desk, with the musical objects carefully stacked in the corner. I also chose my dirtiest, most beat up mascara wands, necklaces, and perfume bottles to show that deep down, they are not very important to me and I can’t be bothered to keep them clean or really take care of them in any way. This was done to show that in the back of my mind, the parts of my personality that show individuality, intelligence, and creativity take precedence over the beauty standards or societal norms that I feel compelled to obey.

 

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.