From:
Brittney
Gender roles are established very
early in a child’s life. At a very early age, children are able to identify
themselves as either a boy or a girl; thus creating segregation. This
segregation allows girls and boys to develop separate “cultures” characterized
by different activities, interaction styles, and social rules. Boys tend to
migrate to boys and girls tend to migrate to girls. Boys will be rough with
each other and play with trucks and cars, while girls with me more empathetic
with each other and play with baby dolls; treating the dolls as if they were
real babies. Children do as they see. They think because they are a girl or a
boy this is how they should act or interact with others because we, adults, do
that.
In my photograph, I have a pregnant
mother and her 5-year old daughter. I had a very broad photo idea at first, so
I decided to spend the day with them and passively watched them to get a more
specific photo idea. From toddlers, little girls are taught to be more domestic
and kind-hearted. This little girl had every stereotypical girl toys, clothes,
and all the way down to the color of her room; pink. I had the privilege to watch
how this little girl interacted with her mother versus her father. She is
daddy’s little girl, but wants to grow up to be just like mommy. She followed
her mom around all day, mirroring her every move because she thinks this is
what she is supposed to do when she grows up. When her dad came home from work,
I watched the mom greet the dad and the little girl do the same exact thing.
The little girl dropped everything she was doing to go greet her father because
that is what she was taught to do. So, this is how I got my idea, I decided to
stage a picture of the little girl mirroring her mom.
A lot of times we say the times have
changed, and don’t get me wrong they most certainly have in many ways, but
women and men still have these traits that we subconsciously stick to and
children pick-up on that because they are constantly trying to learn things
from their parents or other role models.
Works Cited
Rudman, Laurie A., and Peter Glick.
_The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations_,
The Guilford Press, 2015, pp. 59–63.
2 comments:
From: Ana
When children identify themselves as either a boy or girl creating segregation, they begin to imitate the same gender of all ages. Considering children learn from seeing an adult make a particular gesture, they will emulate them such as in the photo of the pregnant mother sitting down with her 5-year old daughter. The daughter mimics her mother by also holding her stomach. The little girl forms an idea that she will someday grow up to be a mother too or at least realize “this is the female role” to find a good hearted man to fall in love with, marry and have children with because girls at a young age are taught to be domestic and kind-hearted. The effects of a mother can teach a child what they're doing right or wrong. Children can recognize inconsistencies, and they might become upset with their inconsistent parent. In the photo the little girl is looking at her mother with a cheerful expression because she is seeing her mother grinning from ear to ear, creating a consistent motion every time she holds her pregnant stomach. If she were to be frowning holding her stomach, it would be strange to the little girl because she would believe having a baby and being a mother may make you feel sad or unhappy. The black and white effect of the photo symbolizes imitation between a parent and her child, a child who has to choose between the bond with her mother or her feelings of gender identity. Most children prefer the relationship, as a natural, unconscious reaction to protect the empathy they depend on from their parent to learn and become the person they want to be.
From Jorge:
First, I really enjoy the positive energy of this photograph! It’s great to see positivity in our posts! The focal point in the photo is the bond the daughter and mother have. They are mirror images of each other with matching outfits, postures, and smiles. I wish the photo was in color, but the greyscale tone conveys a past setting/time period. The daughter clearly wants to be exactly like her mother, and the mother appears to be proud of her influence. Of course, children learn from their parents, so with the daughter’s posture, it can be assumed that she will want to have a baby in the future. She may be gifted a baby doll to (safely) gratify the desire, or she may succumb to pre-marital pregnancy because she is inspired and believes she is capable of handling such a responsibility. The mother looks young (20-30s) so the daughter may gauge her pregnancy expectancy similar to her mother. Curiosity brings wonder of how this daughter plays with her young girlfriends. Does she always want to be the mom (soft-dominant role)? Does she always want to be the wife (soft-submissive role)? Do her friends see her as the leader in their group? Do her friends see her as the helper? The wonderful expression of this photo is the beautiful smiles between both, mother and daughter. She appears to be learning how to be confident and loving to herself and others. No signs of irresponsibility or neglect. I believe there is a bright, loving future for this mother-to-be!
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