In this picture Lauren is being displayed as a major tomboy. With her baggy t-shirt and shorts, she is displaying more of a masculine look. In our society today, the classic name Lauren would be called is tomboy for a more boyish look to her. Lauren is wearing boy clothes, but if a boy were to wear a girl's clothes, he would receive a negative name like "queer" or "gay". Our society has most people to think that it is okay for girls to dress like a boy but not okay if boys were to dress like a girl. That is just how people were taught to react to something like this.Lauren is stepping on a soccer ball, and as you can see there is a soccer bag in the background. This tells us that Lauren plays an aggressive sport. Although soccer is for both men and women it is still a contact sport that sometimes justifies the boundary between men and women characteristics. For example, it is alright that girls play soccer which is categorized as an aggressive sport, but not okay if a guy were to play a sport like field hockey. This is still a contact sport but also it's known as a more feminine sport that women play. I have never seen a guy that has played field hockey before. I feel this is because they would get the social ridicules of as being a girl or wimpy. Our society has set these rules for men and women, when in terms anyone, male or female could play soccer. There are a few details in the picture that shows she is borderline of feminine and masculine. Her hair is messy and thrown up in a pony tail which indicates that she probably doesn't wear make-up or straighten her hair, her t-shirt and shorts are really baggy and big, she is stepping on top of a soccer ball, her soccer bag is in the background, her face has more of a rough look to it, she isn't smiling, and finally, the gesture with her hands express more of a masculine look. These all can be categorized as a more masculine or tomboy outlook. As young kids grow up, parents buy them boys that fit to their gender. For example, a little girl would receive toys like Barbie dolls, diaries, or play cell phones. A little boy would receive toys such as trucks and cars or action figures such as maybe from the movie Star Wars. Another example would be when you first find out if you're having a baby if it's a boy or a girl. A girl would be associated with pink and a boy would be associated with blue. Sometimes when children push the boundaries of this it causes social norms, such as the picture I have of Lauren. It is very important that people study these social norms to get a better understanding of how our society works and why it does these such things as labeling colors with girls and boys.
2 comments:
This photo for me not so much depicts the way girls are seen when dressing like boys or doing things seen as masculine but when boys do things that are seen as feminine and are ridiculed because of it. In our society the word "tomboy" is not negative, in fact many men find women more attractive when they play a sport. On the other hand if a man were to do something feminine such as cook dinner for their girlfriend, it is not something they would likely tell their friends. Even in the high school sports world there is a separation. Boys that play soccer in high school are usually seen as not as tough as the boys that play football. In fact many times the football players will often tease soccer and lacrosse players calling them "fags" or "field fairies" because they aren't tough enough to play football. On the other hand with girls like Lauren, no one is teased between the sports based upon which one is "tougher". Unfortunately for men, there is no positive word for men that do feminine things. Fortunately for Lauren there are positive words for girls that do masculine things.
I really like this photo, it shows how society still has to make people identify with one sex and not just let you act however you want. The fact that this girl is considered a “tomboy” is proof of that, since there is even a term for girls who like to do thing s that are generally thought of as “boy” things.
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