Birthday Party?

From Sherina

In the picture I took last weekend at my little sisters birthday party, you see three young, african-american boys playing a video game with one lonely, persian girl sitting behind them. Looking at the picture, it is obvious that the boys are very focused on the game, enough not to pose for a picture, but the girl put up a rock and roll sign. This shows that the young girl is obviously not interacting or engaging in the game as much as the boys are. Also looking at the picture with a more critical eye, you can see that the young girl does not look into the camera while she is posing. In fact, it seems she was looking at the boy to see whether this decision was right or wrong, maybe she felt like she wasn't fitting in by paying attention to the camera. So, she was searching for reassurance or a reaction from her peers, yet still seemed to be ignored. Also thinking about this certain rock and roll hand pose, seems like another small yet attention grabbing factor. The rock and roll sign is notorious for being hardcore and rough, perhaps she put this sign up to prove she was a part of the guys, even though no matter what pose she did for the camera, the boys would not have paid attention either way. The video game being played is another factor as well. If the video game was about baking or going shopping, I'm almost positive the boys would not play or maybe even stay in the room. Considering the game was a racing game, it's possible the reason the girl was not asked to play was because racing is also another notoriously male dominated sport. Known to be fast, tough, and rugged, it's not exactly what young girls are "meant" to play. All these factors play off from the media, of coarse, and it's unfortunate that even at your own birthday party you still get hit with that reality, even in the smallest or most subconsious way.