This picture defines the gender roles in which children are expected to perform. I took a picture of a beer bottle and a dish washing soap container. My friend, Willie, is holding the beer bottle while my mother is hold the dish washing soap. I thought it was interesting how the two were shaped similarly to their targeted buyers' body shapes. For example, beer is mostly targeted for men and the beer bottle has little to no shape, like a man; the dish washing soap container has the shape of a curvier woman, soap is targeted for women. I added a six pack and muscular arms to the "beer bottle man" because society expects women to be "strong" and "muscular". Also, I added a tie with money signs around "his neck" because society views men as the "bread winner"; usually with a higher positioned, professional job. To the "womanly dish soap", I added breasts, a pearl necklace, and an apron because society expects women to be sexy yet modest/classy, all while performing domestic duties. On the apron, there are various sized black polka dots that, like a black hole, represent the emptiness that women tend to feel from the high expectations of completing domestic duties. The "beer bottle man" has a look of excitement on "his" face because the "womanly dish soap" is everything he "should" ever want. For example, she plays the domesticated role, she has big breasts, a skinny waist, wide hips, and is also modest. These perfect and rare characteristics are what men are expected to admire in order to seem "manly" towards fellow males. The face of the "womanly dish soap" is careless. She's looking the other way and doesn't care for the "beer bottle man's" attention at all. Her lips are marked with X's to represent how women aren't expected to speak up or voice an opinion on a subject. If they do so they are classified as being a "bitch" and not as attractive to men. I took this photo at a "face to face" angle with a blank white background because it represents how gender roles are one of the main focuses in the American culture. I chose to paint the bottle and container because if you were to wipe everything thing away they would just be a plain beer bottle and a plain dish soap container. This being said if we were to wipe away the gender roles that society has created for the American culture, what would women and men be like? Children witness these gender roles everyday through books, movies, advertisements, school, parents, friends etc. Sometimes you can't help but wonder what life would be like without these roles.
3 comments:
This photograph is a very creative way to reflect the separate sphere ideology. The beer bottle is clearly a symbol of the Masculinity sphere. Not only is the hand holding the beer bottle a mans hand, but the bottle itself is dressed like a man. The tie its wearing is covered in dollar signs which is demonstrating power and money; both of which are considered "masculine" qualities. The Bottle of dishwashing soap, however, is a symbol of femininity. The hand holding the soap is smaller with longer nails, which are more likely to be feminine features. Also the dishwashing soap and the apron its wearing are showing domesticity, which are qualities associated with the feminine sphere. She is also wearing jewelry and makeup to keep up with the beauty expectations of women. The shape of the soap bottle is much more voluminous to represent a female body type. All in all i think this photograph is a very clever way to demonstrate gender by assigning them to inanimate objects. It shows that gender is a social construction and not a genetic trait that people are born with.
This was a great way at looking at even things that are used every day can be seen as masculine and feminine just in the way that they look. Adding the feminine and masculine characteristics not only adds a bit of humor but also makes it blatantly obvious what goes to each gender. The masculine "body" of the beer bottle obviously associates this activity with men while the curvy, feminine dish soap associates this activity with women. The way that each person is holding the object is telling as well. The male is grasping the beer bottle, having full control over his grip. On the other hand the woman is gently holding the dish washing soap in an ever so delicate manner. What I also found interesting was that the activities associated with each object are vastly different. The beer bottle symbolizes activity outside of the home and generally speaking having a good time. The bottle of dish soap symbolizes household chores and cleanliness that all women are expected to upkeep in their homes. All in all this person did a fantastic job showing how even every day objects are socialized by gender.
This photograph is a great portrayal of the separate sphere ideology. I love that you used two objects that are associated with each gender and then gave them character. That is a great idea. The fact that dish soap is curvy like the beauty ideal because that ideal goes hand in hand with women being domestic. Society expects women to be beautiful while doing all the housework. The male is represented as a beer bottle which is a masculine drink. Drinking beer is a competitive activity with many males. Men will drink and take advantage of girls. The dollar signs represent power and money which is want men strive for and achieve more than women do.
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