from Jerri
This picture was taken on an early afternoon after my 3 yr old cousin got home from daycare. It was nice outside and so he asked if he could play "backetball". I chose this picture because of the clothes he is wearing, the colors, and the activity he is playing which all play a role in gender socialization.
If we start with his clothes, you can see that he is wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts. It's a plain outfit but it screams "I'm a boy". This outfit is typical to wear if you are engaging in the type of activity that he is. A little girl of the same age would not be seen in that outfit. She would mostly be seen in a outfit that is more gender - defining, a skirt, dress, or a top with bows or ruffles on it. At that age, it's the parents that choose the outfits for their children so you must consider them as an important role in gender- defining. The colors that are gender defining in this picture are red, and blue. To me the colors say, boy and boy. (The green is grass and there is only one parent to credit that and she is known as mother nature). Red and Blue are distinct colors that are separate toddler-age boys from toddler -age girls. If you look at just the basketball hoop itself, it's red, white, and blue. Why not pink, white and purple ? If those colors were used then, that would attract the attention of young girls, and it would confuse society. There is a "boy" toy with "girly" colors. Orange is the universal color for basketballs, there is no gender related reason as to why, it's more so that players of the game can follow the ball easily.
He chose to play basketball this particular afternoon, though he could have played soccer, build legos, or played with his trucks or cars. These are the toys you don't see, but if you could jump into the picture and walk inside the house to his bedroom, it is a world made for the tough, athletic, and the powerful. His toys encourage strength and might. Lastly, look at the position he is in. His knees are slightly bent, both hands are on the ball and his eyes are staring straight at the basket. He, at this young age already knows the form to shoot a basket. He is the epitome of a 3 year old toddler- boy.
6 comments:
This picture definitely shows the "epitome of a 3 year old toddler-boy." The colors through out the picture, from his clothes to the basketball hoop is defined by society as BOY. It is weird to think that society has done this to us, meaning has made things a certain color for males and females, but do we encourage those choices? Yes! We can say yes or no to boys wearing red and blue, but we conform to the norms in society.
I think that your completely correct. Trying to find a blue outfit for my 3 yr neice is the hardest thing ever. If it doesn't have princesses on it then it has flowers. She loves blue but we can't find it anywhere becuase of the way society has conformed our thinking. We think boys with blue and girls with pink.
I liked this picture because it shows exactly what a typical boy would be wearing. Society seems to be defined around a color scheme. Everywhere you go you will notice a pattern; there being specific colors for certain things. We tend to know that blue, red, and green are associated with boys, and that pink, purple, and anything that sparkles are associated with girls. Stuff like clothes and even toys, room décor, and table settings can be recognized whether they should be for a boy or girl. I believe that since this has become a tradition, that is why we may find it unusual if a boy were to wear pink.
this is just like a 3 year old little boy. they want to be kids and they like to play rough sports.
I hate two little boys live across the street from me and all they ever do is play basketball. Even when I would babysit them, they'd always ask to play basketball. I like how you wrote about his outfit. I always find it ridiculous how whenever you look at children's clothes, the girls and the boys outfits are polar opposite. You either have frills and lace, or camo and sports. There's never an inbetween.
I think that you are correct. It is very difficult to find clothing for little girls in red and blue; almost of the clothes that you can buy for three year old girls is pink or pastel colors. I also noticed the comment made right before mine and I think that this really demonstrates the way we are gender socialized and how it affects the way we think. Boys and girls are generally encouraged to do things meant for their gender and girls are not encouraged to play sports like boys are. I am sure that little girls enjoy playing games just as much as boys do.
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