This is a picture of Haley, and her younger brother Brandon. The first thing that you probably noticed was the fact that they both had skateboards. Brandon is only carrying his skateboard while Haley is actually riding hers. This was a representation of their attempt at “breaking the cycle.” Brandon, not playing with a toy that most boys are expected to play with, while Haley playing with a toy that most girls aren’t wanted to play with. This picture also represents the consequences in that in this scene, they’re walking away from the light and into the dark. The lighting in the back was used to represent leaving what’s known to be beautiful, or good. The sun shining and no clouds in the sky is, by many, considered to be a good thing while darkness and shadow is a representation of evil or even the opposite of beautiful. They’re doing the mere opposite of what is expected and wanted by their parents. There is a fair amount of space in between the two people in the front, just to prove that the lightening in between that space is just as important as what the people are doing. The second thing that is meant to be influential in this picture is their clothing. Haley is wearing pink, and purple, while Brandon is wearing blue and green. They’re both wearing the colors that are associated with their genders. It proves that even when trying to prove a point that boys don’t necessary have to fit that boy’s stereotype and girls don’t have to fit that girl’s stereotype, they still decided to fall into their gender stereotypes. It’s shown that boys and girls can’t ever completely get out of their gender schema.
3 comments:
This picture to me says a lot. The angle of the picture is perfect for what is trying to be conveyed. One thing I noticed that I think makes a big impact is not only is the girl lagging behind, but it seems as if they are ignoring one another. Their facial expressions and gesturing give me that impression. It’s almost to say as if the one knows that the other shouldn’t be doing such an activity, according to what society says. When I enlarged the picture though, it became more clear that gender schema plays a large role in these children’s lives, just as many others. While it is evidently clear that these children have had positive reinforcement from their parents in gender roles. The fact that this picture was taken on a path, and out of direct sight, also makes me think that they (or the photographer) are aware that crossing social boundaries is still not accepted by all. One other prominent difference I see is that the boy is holding a traditional skateboard, where the girl is riding what appears to be a long board. Long boards are accepted among the typical boy or male skater as a more feminine type of riding, not to say that no males ride them, but for some reason they are more socially accepted. This picture in all, in my opinion, says a lot about what should and needs to be eliminated in our society; the phobia of crossing social boundaries.
I strongly believe that this picture represents a very unexpected, yet positive message. The fact that the girl in this picture is riding a skateboard demonstrates that she is breaking out of the gender norms held in Western culture today. However, she is still dressed pretty femininely, which also conveys a powerful message. Just because she is a girl who skateboards doesn’t necessarily mean that she dresses in “boy” clothes. Another interesting characteristic of this photograph is the lighting and shadows. The girl seems to be closer to the shadows than the boy. This might symbolize the belief that young girls aren’t supposed to want to ride skateboards, let alone actually do it. The boy in this photograph isn’t riding his skateboard and seems unaware of his female companion behind him. Because the boy is in front of the girl and looks as though he is leading her, this to me shows that males lead females in things that are typically considered to be “male tasks/activities.” It is also significant that the boy chose not to ride his skateboard, while the girl did. Again, this demonstrates the girl breaking away from gender norms as well as the boy doing what is unexpected of him.
This picture is good because it shows how girls often break the cycle of doing the so called gender norm. Both the girl and the boy are riding their skateboards. It is definitely a step towards the right direction :). Giving the girl and the boy their own say in what they want to do and what they want to play with. Although, for some people it might be odd to see a girl playing with a stakeboard i think its great because she has chosen to ignore the media and just be herself.
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