Boys are placed in a gender box that has boundaries and limitations, this photo represents some of those boundaries and how they are rewarded. The eye is visually drawn to the trophies because they are shiny gold and in focus, making them easier to see at first glance. The trophies with statues on them are replicas of males and one has 1st place enlarged on the side, not all are the same sport. The boy is in the background facing away from the camera making his facial expressions unknown. The colors are bright, red, white and blue and show typical colors for males. All of the lines on the court are geometric and represent the boundaries for the game of basketball; even the number on the boys back is linear. The interior of the building has red brick and black piping that show a more masculine layout, with straight lines and edges throughout the photo. The softest features of the photo are the child, the padding on the wall and the ball, which are not in focus.
The photo represents some of the social learning and gender schema that boys experience and develop. The photo shows that learning to be male means to be competitive, aggressive, follow rules and stay inside the boundaries of masculinity. If the person can do this they are rewarded with an object worthy of bragging rights. The many different trophies, that portray the different sports played, help represent the choices of masculinity because these sports are all competitive, some contact, and mostly played by men. Conforming to male roles and disguises help a boy become accepted within a group of peers or in a male on male relationship and avoids any negative aspects of hyper femininity. Having the boy stay inside the lines and abide by the rules of the games prepares him for adult roles of masculinity and the competition that will be endured throughout a career or future masculine relationships. This boy has the hardware to “one up” his opponent in any bragging competition that occurs.
3 comments:
This photo perfectly portrays the socialization of boys in their gender roles. The fact that the trophies are placed in the foreground and take up a large amount of the frame suggests that the boy's accomplishments and competitiveness are the most important aspects of his personality. The fact that the boy is blurred agrees with this fact: though his accomplishments and winnings are prominently put on display, his identity and sense of self are much less important. When we quickly glance at the background of the photo, the metal balcony with the chain-link fence is reminiscent of a prison. This seems to represent the emotional confinement of boys and men in our society: boys and men in America are taught to be hyper-masculine, but conforming to such standards involves shutting out any and all vulnerable emotions, which leads to a sort of psychological imprisonment. Another wonderful example of this masculine ideal is the exit sign with metal bars over it. Men are taught to put themselves in the narrow box that is American masculinity that allows them no escape without some sort of punishment or retribution.
The picture that Kristine decided to use for her photo blog had great details and gave a full description about male roles in society. The picture is a way to identify the type of dominance males must possess in order to compete in society with other males. The colors that are displayed in the photo actually represent our country and symbolize how competitive we are as Americans. It shows that American males appear more dominate, have more power and are very competitive in order to gain that power. The trophies are great attributes to male roles and symbolize leadership. Males are taught very young to become leaders and the trophies just appear to me as a significant role that leads to success. The boy in the photo is becoming a man; this is shown when he leaps into the air in order to shot the ball in the basket. It shows his drive in life and how our society drives men toward success more than we do so with women.
The fact that the camera is looking up at him shows how he is the big one in the picture. Also, the trophies on the floor show how proud he his about his accomplishments. The fact that he is playing basketball shows how the society has influenced him that since he is a boy, he has to do "manly" things like playing basketball, soccer and so on.
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