Throughout the semester, a constantly reoccurring topic is the idea of children’s toys influencing the way they develop. Girls and boys toys are segregated through their entire lives, and there has become a social norm of what each gender specifically is expected to gravitate towards. Girls are stereotypically expected to play with things that are frilly and pink, while boys are stereotypically expected to play with things that are tough and hardcore. From day one, boys are taught that this is what is expected of them. With my picture, I tackled this idea by showing a Transformer, the large robot in the center of the photo, holding three My Little Ponies. Behind him is a vast collection of toys that are normally considered “boys toys.” By having the Transformer stand with his back towards his companions, keeping the ponies out of their sight, it expresses that a boy who takes interest in toys considered feminine is forced to turn his back on his friend’s and family’s views. He is forced to keep his interests quiet, away from their judging eyes, in fear of being looked down on by his peers. In this case, the Transformer is literally being looked down on by the other boy’s toys, to show that very same idea. The underlying conflict that the Transformer must face, is whether his passion for the My Little Ponies is strong enough to overpower the judgment and disapproval of his peers, or whether he is willing to give up his passion in order to conform to social norms. The shelves that the other boy’s toys stand on have thick walls and barriers between one another, which I selected to represent the strong barriers that these social norms hold, even between groups that supposedly belong together. The background toys are segregated into specific groups, showing that even if the Transformer were to give up his love for the girl’s toys, he would still be forced to yet again cram into a given social standard in order to fit in. My point that this photo is trying to show is that society puts an unfathomable amount of pressure on children, even at a young age, to force themselves to conform to specific groups and social criteria instead of expressing their own personal passions, and allowing themselves to be who they really are.
2 comments:
I totally agree, Megan. Boys who show any interest in female norms hide it from others in fear of being bullied. It is unfair the amount of pressure we put on kids to stay within their gender norms and to hide who they really are. I think your picture perfectly shows this. Like you said even if the transformer gave up the girl toys he would still need to fit into the social standards; the “shelves.” I like how you gave the toys personification. It definitely puts boy culture into perspective. You propose a great question, “whether his passion for the My Little Ponies is strong enough to overpower the judgment and disapproval of his peers, or whether he is willing to give up his passion in order to conform to social norms.” I think lots of people ask themselves a similar question about their passions that are not socially acceptable. I absolutely love the title, “Off Limits.” I think it reinforces the topic of your photo of gender norms. That boys according to society cannot like my little ponies that’s, “Off Limits.”
The composition of this photo jumped out at me above anything else - the overwhelming, sort of commandeering presence of the transformer and all the 'boy toys' behind it dwarf the My Little Ponies completely even though they're front, center, and brightly colored. This provides a conflict of focus that really emphasizes the idea being presented here; though the Transformer has a stronger preference for the Ponies, the pressure enforced by the overwhelming presence of the masculine toys is intense enough to present a struggle in the photo. This photo comments on the social tendency to force children into an unnecessary binary quite well - the set-up and stylistic elements evoke the feelings of shame, ostracization, and confinement that accompany the actions so many children take to conform in order to protect themselves.
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