From: Sean
Children grow up without the knowledge of gender roles
or scripts within a society, they are taught by the society itself. The photo I
have taken represents the immense difference between the colors of the gender
separated isles that are extremely noticeable even from afar. The “girls” isle,
clearly on the right, reveals the overwhelmingly pink and plush toys they are
fashioned to like. On the other hand, the “boys” blue-ridden isle is filled
with Legos, vehicles, and even extends to violent toys as demonstrated on the
continued boys’ shelf in the middle of the photo. These toys are extremely
influential to children and are a main cause in the development of gender
relations in society.
Boys and girls do
have a couple of biological differences, but many of their differences
originate from their life experience. For example, girls and boys were born
with separate reproductive systems, but certainly were not born with different
hair lengths. Barbie is the prime toy idol for women, setting unrealistic
expectations for lush blonde hair and a beautiful countenance in a girl; girls’
toys are typically manufactured to develop a desire for the picturesque appearance
that our society has created. However, boys’ toys are manufactured to develop
violence and competition among their own gender, and an example would be
racecars because having the fastest car means that boy is the “best”. The
perspective of the camera captures a child’s view of these contrasting isles;
any child would be drawn to their respective gender’s isle as they look down
the isles, given that society has tailored their mind that their reproductive
organ is supplemented by a color.
1 comment:
This picture truly represents how our society views gender and how it influences young children. In the picture, the aisles are completely separated by what each gender “should” like. The boy’s aisle attracts males with the dark colors and toys that represent masculinity, such as weapons or cars. The girl’s aisle attracts females with sparkly pink colors and toys that represent women as being “homemakers”. The girl’s aisle consists of dolls, play food, kitchenettes/kitchen supplies, dresses, and also fake vacuum cleaners. It gives the little girl an idea of what a women is supposed to do based on how society perceives women. In previous generations, women did play the role as a homemaker, but now women are in the career field just as much as men. It is not healthy to only raise little girls believing that cooking, cleaning, and child bearing is the only thing that they are made for. The title, “I belong in this aisle!”, also represents exactly how children are taught to react whenever they are blended with other genders. Most children in the early ages tend to only play with other kids of the same gender. They are taught that girls/boys have cooties and that it is embarrassing to play with the opposite sex. If a little boy is asked to play with a barbie doll instead of a car, he acts like it is the end of the world. I believe that these extreme reactions are based off of how society molds people before they even have the chance to make their own decisions.
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