A Typical Little Girl's Basement‏

In this picture there are the toys that belong to my two little cousins. At this angle I was able to capture all of the toys that they play with, in their basement. By having the toys they usually play with in the majority of the picture I was able to portray how gender socialized my six and eight year old cousins already are. The picture was natural, meaning that nothing was added or taken from what had been there before I took the picture. I kept it that way to show that I didn't even need to change anything to show the socialization of these little girls. The lighting of the picture was to help emphasize the things on the left side of the picture more than the right side because those on the left are objects that my cousins barely use. The shiny, new looking lacrosse stick and basketball are actually seven to ten years old and used to be mine. The girls haven't really touched them since I handed them down about four years ago. You also notice the sports equipment as well as the globe are almost shoved out of the way which shows that my cousins focus on their dolls and other toys most of the time and sports and knowledge a very small amount of the time. This goes to show that they are already stereotypical little girls concerned about Barbies, baby dolls, and dressing up rather than athletic typed or knowledgeable activities. I told the girls to pick out their favorite toy and one picked out a baby doll and the other a Barbie. I asked them why they didn't pick the lacrosse stick or the basketball and they said that they only had those because their dad likes sports. More proof that these girls are just like a common little girls, physically weak and worried about dressing up and looking pretty as opposed to being smart in school and good at sports. In the middle of the picture you see stuffed animals, clothes, and things that you would expect a little girl to have. A good amount of these things haven't been touched since the day they were bought, but were bought most likely because one of them saw a commercial they liked and nagged mommy or daddy about it until they got it. Mostly everyone can relate to that, but it is usually that little girls are notorious for that kind of behavior. The Dora kitchen set to the right is what my youngest cousin got from her father last Christmas. It was exactly what she wanted and she plays house with it almost every day. When I asked her why she plays with it all the time she just looked at me as if I should know and replied, "Because that's what Snow White does all the time." She has just gotten a Snow White costume for Halloween and thinks that she has to prepare for the role. Not only an example of how the media affects girls, but also of how a little girl is depicted in the movies.