From: Kathleen
I chose this of the many photos taken for a variety of reasons. This photo displays many of the ideas we have read about and discussed in class such as: where children learn gender, prescriptive ideals, interaction styles, romantic socialization, princess culture, and physical appearance. The first place children learn gender is from their families. In this photo the mother (Erin) is teaching to the youngest (Madison) how to brush hair. The other daughter (Alleen) is displaying to her younger sister that girls like to be well groomed with her look of happiness of this situation. Alleen is also teaching Madison though her bed and clothing that girls like pink, Hello Kitty, dolls, and princesses. The prescriptive ideal that women are to be nurturing mothers is clear in this photo by Erin taking care of both her daughters by holding one while grooming the other. We can see through all of them smiling at, and looking at one another that Erin has found a way to get things done while keeping the children happy and engaged. The photograph also clearly depicts female interaction styles of cooperative exchange, and negotiating sharing arrangements, as seen by Erin and Alleen allowing Madison to take a turn brushing Alleen’s hair. Obviously a 10 month old cannot be the most gentle at brushing hair, so it was very tolerant of Alleen to oblige Madison in taking a turn. I hoped to bring as many elements of our discussions in to this photo as possible so I asked Alleen if she had a princess book to help illustrate romantic socialization and princess culture. The book was an abridged version of many Disney princess stories, all of which portray a dainty and beautiful princess in peril, who is eventually “saved” by a strong male. I save physical appearance for the end as it was tied in with the princess book, and the obvious grooming of Alleen’s long hair. Further it was more what took place directly before the photo was taken that truly detailed the importance of physical appearance to Alleen; Erin announced “Ok Alleen, you know mommy can’t have a picture taken without cleaning and up and putting on her make-up so watch your sister for a second please.”
5 comments:
As average and domestic as this photograph is, it portrays an excellent example of women culture, perhaps because it is so “average and domestic”. When I look at this photograph, having many younger cousins, I think of this as normal, which is a bit of a problem. There is no reason why these girls could not like Hello Kitty, dolls, and princesses, but if they didn’t, I’d think of it as a bit odd. There are very many aspects that come from our textbook, and I do believe as well that mothers play a very significant part in teaching these gender roles to their daughters, especially Ms. Erin. This domestic norm of teaching young girls at a young age to be beautiful, submissive and maternal through Disney, dolls, and slightly painful grooming by a two year old is absolutely valued by our culture. I do think Ms. Erin is doing an excellent job interacting with her children, but she is heavily tuning in to these social standards of grooming and “pretty in pink” which is respected in a lesser way than possibly education, inner strength and stability, which would sadly be more likely to be taught to boys.
As average and domestic as this photograph is, it portrays an excellent example of women culture, perhaps because it is so “average and domestic”. When I look at this photograph, having many younger cousins, I think of this as normal, which is a bit of a problem. There is no reason why these girls could not like Hello Kitty, dolls, and princesses, but if they didn’t, I’d think of it as a bit odd. There are very many aspects that come from our textbook, and I do believe as well that mothers play a very significant part in teaching these gender roles to their daughters, especially Ms. Erin. This domestic norm of teaching young girls at a young age to be beautiful, submissive and maternal through Disney, dolls, and slightly painful grooming by a two year old is absolutely valued by our culture. I do think Ms. Erin is doing an excellent job interacting with her children, but she is heavily tuning in to these social standards of grooming and “pretty in pink” which is respected in a lesser way than possibly education, inner strength and stability, which would sadly be more likely to be taught to boys.
This is an excellent photo that portrays the interaction styles in the textbook. “Girls more frequently engage in cooperative exchanges with each other; negotiate sharing arrangements, and take turns without interrupting.” (Page 62. Maccoby, 1998; Serbin et al., 1984) As shown in the photo, the female culture today is more viewed with the color pink, the princess phenomenon, and one of the newest trends “Hello Kitty”. The Hello Kitty stands out to me because for the young female generation today, Hello Kitty is similar to the princess theme. Also, it has been said that mothers are the first groomers of femininity for their female children. I also see that Erin was also groomed herself of how to be feminine, with the closing statement of the photo blog. She also felt the need to feel “pretty”. Another idea that caught my eye was the interaction between the mother and the two girls; it is very typical for the mother to be doing the nurturing of the children, rather than seeing the father brushing Alleen’s hair. Erin does look content performing this role as the care taker for not one, but two children. Again, by looking at this picture, society has made it seem like women are the only sex that can perform these duties. My last observation was the doll on the bed; the doll that represents a feminine toy. I didn’t notice any masculine trucks or Spiderman figures in this photo! This is where the toy and activity preferences from the text are expressed. Great photo!
This is an excellent photo that portrays the interaction styles in the textbook. “Girls more frequently engage in cooperative exchanges with each other; negotiate sharing arrangements, and take turns without interrupting.” (Page 62. Maccoby, 1998; Serbin et al., 1984) As shown in the photo, the female culture today is more viewed with the color pink, the princess phenomenon, and one of the newest trends “Hello Kitty”. The Hello Kitty stands out to me because for the young female generation today, Hello Kitty is similar to the princess theme. Also, it has been said that mothers are the first groomers of femininity for their female children. I also see that Erin was also groomed herself of how to be feminine, with the closing statement of the photo blog. She also felt the need to feel “pretty”. Another idea that caught my eye was the interaction between the mother and the two girls; it is very typical for the mother to be doing the nurturing of the children, rather than seeing the father brushing Alleen’s hair. Erin does look content performing this role as the care taker for not one, but two children. Again, by looking at this picture, society has made it seem like women are the only sex that can perform these duties. My last observation was the doll on the bed; the doll that represents a feminine toy. I didn’t notice any masculine trucks or Spiderman figures in this photo! This is where the toy and activity preferences from the text are expressed. Great photo!
This photo is a good example of how children learn gender roles. The fact that the girls are surrounded by pink, Hello Kitty, dolls and are reading a princess book gives them several references on what they should like as girls and how they should be treated. Children are easily influenced by things greater than them, so when they see a princess in a castle they expect that they too will be a princess and live in a castle. Constantly giving girls the stereotypical toys and expectations limits their imagination and allows them to set high expectations that aren’t always possible to reach. At first glance there may not seem like there is anything wrong with this photo, but after examining it the photo shows how our society suffocates children with specific gender roles in order for them to be expected.
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