from: Caitlyn
My photo is called "Too Young." I tried to incorporate a lot in this photo. Although you may not see directly how this photo could be gender socialization, you can see that gender socialization could lead to this. In the media, girls are portrayed to be sexy and revealing so that they will appeal to men. Girls are trying to look and act older to be the "ideal" female. Having sex is also linked to acting older. There are lots of girls out there pressured to have sex by either a male, or their friends. I had this 13 year old girl wear a white shirt to show her purity. I incorporated the rubber-duck towels to also show her immaturity. She is holding onto a stuffed animal because she is still at a young age and uses it for support. She probably will not be using the guy that got her pregnant for support because more than likely it is not her boyfriend or a close friend. There is also a flat iron in the photo, and her hair is straight. At such a young age she is worried about her hair looking good.
11 comments:
Guys almost demand that girl be clean, sexually and hygienically. The shower symbolizes that. The lighting is kind of dim, which is representative of the mood she is in. Girls spend a lot of time in the bathroom getting ready, “beautiful,” and meeting society’s demands, which is significant in this picture. The red towel represents the "scarlet letter" that girls wear if they get pregnant early- which the hand resting on her head and the pregnancy test shows. All of the white in the bathroom shows her innocence. Her hair straightener and her basket of things in the bathroom show the materialistic behavior that is important for girls to have. Her hair also looks dyed, so that is another artificial way that she meets the standards the media demands. The carpet underneath only one of her feet shows that if she is pregnant, there's no assured support for her boyfriend/family. Her being on the toilet in the bathroom shows her vulnerability to bulimia and anorexia. The blue does not tie into the picture very much, but that shows gender labels- like how girls are associated with pink, boys associated with blue. The picture is taken not as a close up, or from far away but it does focus on the subject, but it also lets the viewer see the set. That was the best way to take this picture.
This picture shows me a lot about girls these days… I’m not saying that I’m not one of them. I know I am, and I know there are other girls that are the same way. Society and influence have a lot to do with the actions girls take now days. All girls are maturing faster and more rapidly that ever! Sex and pregnancy are one of the biggest things with girls. They want to have sex because they “want to fit in,” or because “it’s cool.” Many young girls are pressured into having sex when they shouldn’t be. Although there are movies out where women and girls are raped or that are played as they “want sex.” How can we not expect young girls to “want sex” when it is portrayed all around us?
I think this picture is a great example of the pressures that so many young girls are feeling today, and the double standards that so many people hold them to.
On the one hand, girls are taught to be "pure," clean, and practically perfect. But they are also taught that boys like sexy girls who are willing to sleep with them. This double standard can be very confusing for many girls, as it teaches them that, while they should be perfect and never have sex, they should also do what a guy wants them to (since having a boyfriend makes them more popular). These two different ideas lead to many complications, as girls aren’t taught how to have safe sex (since all they are taught is to stay a virgin) which can lead to pregnancy and or STD’s in very young girls.
This picture shows this very well. It demonstrates the fear that many girls experience when they first check that pregnancy test, and it shows how young and maybe immature so many girls are when they first have sex. Since the girl is so young she may not have realized that getting pregnant is fairly easy to do.
I also like how you have the girl’s hair products and make-up on the counter next to her. It shows that so many young girls are trying to look and act older, not just by having sex, but also by wearing make-up and styling their hair in order to be popular and have a boyfriend. This demonstrates that, while many young girls are taught that being older and perfectly beautiful at all times will bring you popularity and a great guy; it can also lead to problems, such as unwanted pregnancy.
This photo shows what a lot of girls today are going through. Sex is so common within teens, and teenage pregnancy rates are rising. In this photo, I noticed the angle that she took the photo at. Her subject is in the center but she is looking down on her. I think this is significant because when people find out that girls are sexually active, or even pregnant, they are looked down upon by their peers, family, or other people whose opinions you value. The white wall behind the girl shows that she still has some sort of innocence about her. Also the fact that she is hugging a teddy bear while she is looking at the results of her pregnancy test shows that she is still young. I noticed the yellow ducks on the towels behind her and on the shower curtain which lead me to believe that she is still relatively young and immature. The hair straightener shows that she cares about her appearance and what others think about her. Many girls will do these things to get the guys attention; have sex and straighten their hair. I have seen friends go through this exact situation and I know how scary it can be for them. Girls are being taught through magazines and the media that having sex is cool and that it makes people think you are older and more mature. With this picture, you can clearly see that this is not the case. She is young and does not know what to do. Girls today just want to be wanted, and if that means having sex, then that’s what they will do. It’s really scary to think about. I personally am on the side of abstinence and I think it is great that more people are coming in the public eye are coming out saying they are saving themselves for marriage (like Jessica Simpson did, and the Jonas Brothers). Maybe this sort of thing will rub off on the younger girls of today. I guess we will have to wait and see if things do change in the coming years.
This photo plays a major significant role in today’s young teenager societies. The mere fact that a 13 year-old girl is having sexual relations is enough to prove the point of this photo. The fact that the girl is holding her fate in her hands, (the pregnancy test), and the fact that the girl is looking down in disappointment shows that most young teenage girls out there are conforming to be fit in with the rest of society’s expectations. Obviously, the girl is not proud of her having sex at that young of an age, otherwise she wouldn’t have that expression of disgust and shame on her face. I noticed a flat-iron for hair on the left side sitting on the counter. The hair product shows that women are automatically “supposed” to be pretty on the outside. The flat-iron also symbolizes that she is trying to impress someone, whether its consciously or sub-consciously. The stuffed animal that she is holding is huge symbol in this photo. The stuffed animal symbolizes that this girl is still a child, and sexual relations are not the best thing for a young girl at this age. The open door symbolizes the girl’s vulnerability at that point in time. Since the door is “open”, she became even more vulnerable when she found out her pregnancy results.
This picture is powerful. It shows a lot about how young girls get in over their heads. A thirteen year old girl shouldn’t even have to worry about a pregnancy scare or taking a pregnancy test. I have a thirteen year old sister and could never imagine her in that situation. These days sex is shown on television on a daily basis, young people are exposed to this all the time. Young girls see this on television and they feel that they need to be sexual and they feel like they need to have male attention, when the truth is being sexual at a young age is inappropriate and can get you into trouble, such as pregnancy. Teen pregnancy is really on the rise and instead of encouraging sex; society should be showing more real life scenarios that have consequences. The way the girl in the photo is holding her head while looking stressed seems like a real life reaction. The way the girl has her hair straightener in the photo and the basket of cosmetics on the back of the toilet shows she is worried about her looks and wants to look good and be accepted, but if she is pregnant she won’t have as much time for things like looks. The way the girl in the photo is cradling the stuffed animal in her arm shows that she has been taught the stereotypical motherly duty of holding a child. The way the girl in the photo is looking down seems to show she is ashamed, it’s sad to see that because a girl that’s her age shouldn’t even be in such a stressful situation.
I agree completely with this photograph. Because today's society is so consumed with being sexy and acting more mature, the younger generations are growing up much faster than they should. Young girls believe that being sexy means having sex and having sex means maturity. As shown in this picture, there is a young girl that has taken a pregnancy test and the lighting is very gloomy giving the onlooker the result of the test without having to even truly see it. She is in a hand on the head stance that says shes worried. She is now faced with the outcome of her decision. Is it truly aol her fault because she let sex happen at such a young age or is it society's fault for allowing the depiction of sex become acceptable to today's youth? The elements of photograph such as the ducks on the towels and shower curtain and the stuffed doll that she is holding shows through to her youth. Because she chose to use the duck towels and a stuffed doll in the photograph she has shown that the girl is still in her privacy; that although she may still seem older in person, she still seek comfort from the younger generation themes. As shown through holding the stuffed doll while taking the pregnancy test she is seeking comfort from the doll as a young child would seek for understanding. Today's society makes the younger generation think that it's ok and mature to have sex, and makes it seem even more ok for the male not to have to take an equal amount of responsibility as the photographer also touched on.
This picture really symbolizes teenage pregnancy. As teenagers they are still so young, but the media influences them to act as if they are older. The media sexualizes woman in many ways. For any type of ad the model is usually very skinny and very pretty. So these young girls think that to be grown up they should have sex, and they may not know about using any type of birth controls because that is not shown often in the media. The media has a true effect on these young innocent tennagers.
I agree with the message that this photo is sending. Our society and the media forces us girls to act and dress older, which leads to sex while we are still so young and then to teen pregnancy. All we should have to worry about is school and whether or not our hair looks good (which is another societal expectation in and of itself), not about being pregnant.
This photo is an extra example of the negative outcomes for teenage girls. The reality is that many young girls become pregnant because they are clueless when they are pressured into having sex. Girls try to look pretty and appear older, which can potentially lead to acting like an adult and taking on sexual activities. I like the use of props symbolizing the girls youth. Media does in fact contribute to girls having sex because that is what is being displayed throughout magazines and television.
This photo is nice but i hat to hear stuff like that because it is true. Some girls really try to fit in with people that they forget to be safe or just to say no to it. However she is really young for a baby, but there is always a good and bad to and situation. So nice work!!!
Post a Comment