As children are growing up, they are taught many gender stereotypes by their parents. Boys and girls are culturally inclined to pursue particular careers and become interested in certain things based on their sex. In this photograph, a child is exposed to two different stereotypes in their environment. The father is playing video games which influences the child, if it is a boy, that this is a more masculine activity. Also, based on the type of game the father is playing, the child is also influenced to watch sports or become interested in violence. The mother is vacuuming the floor which is showing the child that if they are a girl, they are influenced to clean because it is something that is normal for girls to do. The picture was taken at a lower angle to show that the photo is being seen through a child’s perspective. These two activities in the photo are a big influence on gender socialization because they are seen by many young children in their parents in many present day situations. If you go into a toy store, you will see things grouped into two groups that aren't defined but are obvious based on knowledge of stereotypes. The things associated with these two groups highly influence the boy and girl stereotypes and what is seen as culturally normal for each sex based on gender. Sports, cars, action figures, and video games are associated with boys more often because they are masculine. Barbie dolls, toy kitchen appliances, toy cleaning supplies, and play houses are mostly associated with girls because they are seen as feminine.
1 comment:
The photo portrays something that our society is trying to cope with and figure out how to deal with as we grow. Another way the photographer could have looked at their photo was the family dynamics of the photo. They are clearly spending some type of family time together. They are trying to sit back from a long day and play video games but the mother of the photo is doing her domestic duties. Even when its supposed to be family time she is still trying to vacuum around them. The father and the son aren't making the mother any attention because she really isn't doing anything interesting. We see the women in the home constantly doing what is expected of them and doing domestic duties around the home. For women to make a statement about how much they want to change and how we want to grow as a society, women need to venture from the gender roles. Women and men need to explore the world outside of what has been placed in front of them and realize how much change there is to come. There is so much outside of each gender scripts that we could be doing so we should leave the roles behind and explore our options. The only way to change the world is to challenge the world.
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