Everywhere you look in the room pictured all you see is pink. When we see the color pink, we automatically think “girl” and vice versa with blue association to boys. Throughout early childhood girls are taught things about fairytales. Fairytales can create a false sense of happy endings when dealing with an aggressive partner as depicted in the Beauty and the Beast. Closely looking in the background, you can see that there is a castle pictured with princesses, fairies, and the actual word princess which constantly reminds this child of gender roles. Every time she enters her room, she enters a world of gender; she is repeatedly reminded of “what she should become”. Also, the placing of the all of these objects above the bed resembles the dreams girls have about achieving a goal of becoming a princess or being treated like a princess. The picture is taken from below adult eye level which symbolizes how girls tend to idolize and look up to such figures in fairytales. Girls tend to struggle with their identity and self image because of the way certain princesses are illustrated; princesses have a tiny waist and larger assets (breasts and bottoms) than typically found on a woman. Every aspect of these fairytales point to an overall image girls should construct for themselves to become women, with attractiveness and how they should carry themselves in the dating world (i.e. clothes, makeup, and hairstyles). Also, throughout these fairytales, the princesses are always willing to give up something of themselves for a prince which teaches them that boys are higher in power. All of this points to gender socialization because of the gender typed theme throughout the room (color/wall decals) and inside the gender socialization is another root based, known as romantic socialization which has its effects on young adolescent girls with their expectations for adulthood.
2 comments:
I see the unmade, messy bed as a representation of the little girls inner desire for change and to break free of her gender script. There seems to be a black and orange Baltimore Orioles pillow at the foot of the bed. Even if the pillow is not an Orioles pillow it is black and that stuck out to me. In all this blush, rose, and damask to see a black pillow is a bit shocking. Perhaps that pillow also signifies that young lady’s desire to escape from the “two cultures” of childhood. If the pillow is an O’s pillow this is a blatant disregard to sex segregation in toys and sports from the child.
I love how in this picture every single detail is either the most prominent girl color (pink) or other colors that are still considered pretty. I think the huge castle next to her bed is a way of her thinking she is a princess every time she enters her room. The scary part of that though is the way social media depicts a princess. Not only is a princess typically skinny but often times their “prince” is abusive mentally and physically yet the princess thinks that’s fine and stays with them. In our society if someone stays with an abusive significant other, more times than not they just get more abusive. Maybe this castle next to her bed is a way to escape her own reality. I love how the camera captured everything girly except for this black pillow at the end of the bed. This stood out because it looks as though the girl tried to cover it which is a reason her bed is so messy. The girl knows these colors are not meant for her but she probably likes them which is she has this pillow. The camera was at an angel maybe trying to hide this pillow to show this little girl is following the gender norms. This girl at a very young age, just by her room, knows how to put certain things into the only two categorizes society emphasizes; a boy category and girl category. Although the flower on the nightstand is not pink or in any other typical “girly” color, this girl’s subconscious mind has already put flowers into the girl category just by having it in her room surrounded by all other girly things. In this picture the ceiling appears to be white, as a sense of purity because of how young she is and how everything she is doing right now is considered correct in society’s mind. Maybe this is because whenever the girl goes to bed she will look up and in her mind as she looks at her ceiling and know to steer in the right direction of following the expected norms. I love the way this picture depicts how gender socialization starts at such a young age.
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