"being a boy versus being a girl"

From: Kate


My photo is a collage of many different photos I took while I was walking around a popular brand name department store. While I was walking around the store I went down the girls’ toy section and the boys’ toy section and it was like walking into two different worlds. In the boys section I saw big trucks, race cars, guns, action figures that were in fighting poses and weapons of all sorts. Many of the action figures had big muscles and were portrayed as very masculine and dominant figures. All of these toys that were for sale teach young boys how to be violent and masculine. Many of the action figures had guns and were from movies that showed a lot of violence and fighting. This teaches them that guns and weapons are fun and are a game and they should learn how to use them for fighting. The colors and textures of the toys also show masculinity, many of the items are blue with darker colors that are made of plastic and harder materials. On the other hand the girls’ side was very pink and filled with fluffy and soft toys. The walls were covered in Barbie dolls, stuffed animals and princess dresses with accessories. Many of the dolls were life-like and could talk and act like a real baby. They came with bed sets, clothes and strollers so that there 3 or 4 year old “mom” could properly take care of them. The dolls teach little girls how to be house wives and how to take care of children and look after the house like a good house wife should. The little girls are being socialized to be moms and also to be very feminine. The princess dress that were at the store were very girly and feminine. They came with tiaras, high heels, make-up and purses. These dress-up outfits are teaching young girls how to dress. It is showing them that in order to fit in you must be girly and wear make-up and dress up in order to get attention from guys and find their prince charming. As I walked around the store more I found many items that were the same brand but came in girl styles and boy styles. One example is the Band-Aids, they are exactly the same brand of Band-Aid but the girl style is pink and has flowers with Hello Kitty on the cover and the boy style is blue and has racecars on the front. Children are even taught gender socialization through health care products. Even school supplies had boy styles and girl styles, and every time the boys style was either blue or green and some kind of superhero or action figure on the cover, while the girls style was either pink or purple and had flowers or very feminine cartoon characters. These are all examples of how brand name companies and society are influencing children and teaching them how to be a girl or a boy based on the gender stereotypes of our society in America.