I chose to take a picture of my six year old cousin and his mom to demonstrate the negative impacts that can happen when parents try to stick strongly to "gender norms". I placed my cousin Logan in his boyish decorated room which is mostly blues and yellows and then put a bright hot pink shirt on him. I did this to show that the room that his mom most likely picked out everything for is typically male items and colors where as the shirt he most likely chose that day is typically a girl's color. I also chose to place him on his bed with his mom standing over him to show the lack of power he has. Your parents have authority over almost everything when you're younger especially at six, whatever your mom says goes. Her scolding stance towering over him is intense and Logan's face is clearly upset. The picture revolves around him playing with these two Barbie dolls he has and the issue his mom seems to have with it. As he's looking sad he's staring at the dolls with disappointment not understanding why he can't play with a toy that he chose. This happens everywhere among many children with close minded parents. Luckily this photo is staged and my cousin actually owns these Barbies and does play with them as well as his trucks and nerf guns. For other children this might not be the case, some parents will not allow their son to play with dolls or their daughters to play with trucks just because they think it's not the "right way". It's extremely damaging for people to not allow a child to make their own decisions about who they are or what they like or dislike. Growing up is about finding yourself and becoming comfortable with who you are, by us telling a little boy that its wrong to be dressed in pink when that's what he wants can cause deep self esteem issues. Breaking these stereotypes is so important for us to work on for future generations so children grow up more comfortable with who they are and live happier lives being free to make their own choices.
4 comments:
From: Katelyn
From this photograph you can see the anger the parent has toward her son. Children don’t know the difference between girl toys and boy toys unless they are pressed on playing with a toy for their designed sex. I believe if parents and caregivers don’t categorize toys, children won’t know the difference. Children learn not to play with toys of the opposite sex because they believe it isn’t right. They only believe it isn’t right because they are pushed to think it isn’t.
From: Sarah
If children do not learn that toys are gender-specific from their parents, they are likely to learn it at school/ playing with fiends. This is what makes it so difficult to break away from the idea that there are "boy" and "girl" toys. It's damaging to children because they are prone to being ridiculed if they don't conform to their gender prescribed toys. This will lead to girls growing up thinking they are supposed to be nurturing, and possibly peruse a career in a field that depicts that; or they might feel pressured to be a stay at home mom.
From Heena
I like how he is sitting in a boyish room playing with Barbie’s because to society that is not normal. Society would think something was wrong with that little boy. The way his mom is staged in the back yelling at him for playing with Barbie’s makes a better understanding on how boys get in trouble for playing with girl’s toys. The look of sadness on his face tells you that he wants to be able to play with Barbie’s without getting in trouble for it. This causes a dispute between gender norms.
From: Bryce
This photograph shows how the little boy (in his bright pink,feminine shirt) stands outs significantly from the rest of his room (a symbol of society). The stance of his mother (authoritative figure) in regards to his choice of clothing and toys, portrays disappointment, and displeasure towards the child's interests. To me this is a great image showing how children and teens feel out of place going against societal and gender norms, and the pressure children have growing up to fit into the preferred category (gender of origin).
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