"Gender Bender"

From Elizabeth 

My photo uses objects to represent the consequences of going against the socially accepted gender traits as learned in class. The 4 themes represented in my photo are gender stereotyping, gender schema, self-esteem, and gender identity.  The two dolls are representative of two women as a same-sex couple.  Growing up, girls learn what is “normal” or socially accepted for a girl to wear, what they are “supposed” to look like. The traits and features that we learn to be “feminine” or “masculine” is known as gender schema. While one of the dolls represents the female gender clothing stereotype, long hair, pretty dress, the other woman has short boy-cut hair and is wearing masculine clothing, representing the opposite of what a woman is “supposed” to wear, going against the female gender stereotype in terms of dress.  At an early age, boys and girls are introduced to gender stereotyping, that is, they learn to recognize things as being "masculine or "feminine".   As stated previously, the dolls represent a same-sex couple, this again goes against the social norm. They are different from heterosexual couples, so they are viewed as not being “normal”.  The media in the background represents the “normal” heterosexual relationship that contradicts their own. The media is an ad on the back of the October 2010 issue of Teen Vogue magazine. The rings with the rainbow ribbon heart represent wedding bands. Since their relationship is not socially accepted as “normal” they are not allowed to legally marry, only “normal” couples are allowed to be married legally.  Sexual orientation is a part of one's gender identity.  The lack of acceptance of the LGBT has a tremendous effect on their self-esteem, or how they feel about themselves.  The camera view looks down on the objects in the photo, representing how society as a whole tends to look down on the LGBT community in a negative way.  All of these pieces put together show the consequences of going against stereotypical gender roles and learned gender traits (gender schema). They represent the “bending” of traditional “gender” stereotypes, hence the title “Gender Bender”.