This is a photo of Alex, my 3 and half year old neighbor. It displays toy and activity preferences in young children.
He is playing with a bright yellow construction truck toys, which is a gender-specific toy for boys. This shows the viewer that he prefers “boys” toys. Next, notice his toenails. They are painted blue. Wearing nail polish is a gender-specific activity for girls. This shows that he also enjoys “girl” activities. This creates conflict between gender-norms.
I took the photo this way because the first thing the viewer notices is the brilliant red carpet on which he sits, it takes up most of the photo. It is at an angle creating an unsettled background, bringing a feeling of uneasiness to the viewer. The red also symbolizes impurity (little boys aren’t supposed to be wearing nail polish!). The nail polish was applied neatly suggesting that it was done by an adult which might also make the viewer uncomfortable.
Alex himself is off-centered, looking down, has his hand in his mouth, and the camera is looking down on him. All of these elements of the photo suggest that he is lacking confidence. This might be because he gets bullied or has difficulties making friends due to his tendencies to act outside of the normal gender roles prescribed to him, which might damage his self-esteem.
The picture as a whole has an awkward feel; with the unsettled background, painted nails, and even his lack of enthusiasm playing with the toy trucks. I also think it is interesting that he chose blue for the color of his nail polish because even though nail polish is a “girl” thing, blue is a “boy” color.
1 comment:
From Heena
The little boy playing with trucks while having his toenails painted a bright blue color is a conflict of gender norms. Like you’ve mentioned, the angle the camera is looking down at seems like he lacks confidence. It can also kind of reflect how people look down on him because he has his nails painted. He doesn’t seem too excited to be playing with the trucks.
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