From: Tricia
The little boy in this photo represents the probability of a “bright” future compared to the female child. The center focus of the photo is representative the dominant social location of a white, male in our society. The socialization of helplessness that is taught to female children is seen here in the little girl dressed as a princess and in her interest in princess mythology. Her placement in the darkness of the photo symbolizes the probability of a “darker” (less prosperous) future than her male sibling.
7 comments:
Why do think that the futures for females are dim? There are more females graduates from college today than men. Follow the link below to a USA Today article that discusses this. The information is also available on the census bureaus website. While women are still making less then men the trends are in favor of women and indicate women's futures are actually brighter then men's.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-05-29-our-view_x.htm
Sorry, I do sound pretty extreme in my symbolic description. Thank you for the link. It was interesting. However, studies indicate women are not only paid less than their male counterparts with the same degrees, they are even paid less than some men without degrees! That is what I was trying to express.Of course I believe that many woman have "bright" futures. I was only generalizing based on alot of the research we've been presented with in class.
I think that the boy being in the front of the picture shows that people seem to think men have more of a chance of succeeding. It kinda seems like the picture is saying that the boy is more important than the girl in the background because he is in the spotlight and she is reading a book in the dark.
This portrays the idea that men are more dominant than women. They are in the spotlight and gain success while their wives just sit in the background. Women do as men want them and just live to support their husbands. This gives the idea that women do not have lives of their own.
The little girl is hidden in the darkness behind the boys light. He head is looking down as though she is fearful to look in to the cameras eye. The boy however is confident and looks right into the camera with no fear cause he knows its okay.
The fact that this picture is starting kids out at such a young age with the typical stereotypes of male and female is the perfect example of how our society is damaging kids. The girl, is sitting in the background, and doesn't even acknowledge the camera, and she is reading a book about princesses. She's being domesticated at such a young age. The boy is already holding a screwdriver and having to be the center of attention. His face is right in the camera, promoting males in blue collar jobs. This why our society is the way it si today, because we put these ideas into our youths head and as they grow up male and females thoughts are impaired with stereotypes.
I agree with you that there are more opportunities in our society for white men and men of color than there are for women. Even if there are more female graduates than men it's still a disadvantage to education. Because today a man can easily obtain a job through a 6month trade and a high school diploma then go on and make more money than a college graduate who is a female or just as much. I really like the point you made on this blog.
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