From: Jorge
This is a picture of my young
sister. In this photo I am representing a young girl who is curious about the
more “masculine” film, where a woman protagonist is portrayed as a strong,
athletic person capable of “masculine” positions, instead of the “feminine”
film, where the protagonist is soft, passive person. Growing up with only
brothers for siblings, Cia has always had masculine role models in the
household. Rough-housing, contact sports, and aggressive humor have always been
the basis of her brothers’ ideas of fun. Between the ages of 3-6, Cia rarely
wanted to wear bright colors and faux make-up. For Halloween, she chose
gender-neutral characters such as animals and seasonal mascots. However, once
she started elementary school, by hanging out with girls who have older sisters
and more feminine role models, she began to question whether she “needed” to be
more girly-like or not. This extended to our mother having thoughts that Cia
would grow up to be lesbian because of how “masculine” her personality and attire
was. With different influences coming from inside and outside the home, Cia
faced a conflict between the “two cultures” of childhood.
Research shows that “boys’ toys
are hard and sharp, whereas girl’ toys are soft and smooth (Rudman, Glick 60). Starting
in her elementary school, Cia began playing with Barbie toys, engaging in
“girl” activities like Hopscotch and jump rope. However, back at home she
played football, Pokémon Trading Card Game, and wrestling. According to gender
schema theory (Bem, 1981), “children learn gender schemas from their social
environments”. This caused Cia to develop distinctions between her brothers and
her friends.
Now, Cia is 10 years old. She
is beginning her adolescence period. “Over time, the more boys play with boys
and girls with girls, the more gender typed their play activities become. Being
told to hang around her friends from school rather than her brothers, she has
become more “feminine” but still hints at being a “tomboy”. This is the
personality I am conveying through the photo. Cia is dressed in bright pink
colored clothes, her room is screaming in pink, yet her backpack is navy blue,
her lunchbox is teal, and her water bottle is grey with signs of wear. She is
the focal point and the VHSs are her choices. It’s Friday, and after a long day
at school and playing outside in the park with her girlfriends, she is ready to
relax and end the day with a Disney film. She has two of her favorite stories,
Cinderella and Mulan. One inspired by her association with the “feminine”
culture, the other inspired by her association the “masculine” culture. Which
will she choose? Maybe she feels the story of Cinderella has been said and done
before. She’s reading the plot summary, possibly looking for a word resembling
her brothers’ personalities…
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.
4 comments:
From: Sahra
I love this photo along with your essay about your younger sister Cia. I definitely related to this because growing up, I was raised around mainly boys so it was hard to determine whether if it was okay to play basketball with the boys in my neighborhood or if I should have stayed home to play with the dolls I was gifted that were still in their boxes. I see the background with the pillow and sheets as very girly and that could represent the fact that she is starting to be more comfortable to the pink and “feminine” touches in her room. Her blue backpack and water bottle being in front of her/next to her could show that no matter what, she will always have that as security and that is what she is used to because she grew up with all brothers. Cia is holding the Cinderella movie lower than the Mulan movie because it is clear that she is more interested in watching the Mulan movie more because her attention is more focused on it. Cia looks like she must have read the plot summary on the Cinderella movie and felt like it was something she had no interest in or could not relate to unlike Mulan. I love how on the cover of Mulan, her face is half covered in makeup and half bare and I feel like that represents Cia very well because she is in-between being more aggressive and “tomboyish” and more “girly” and “feminine” because of her brothers and her female friends.
From: Baylee
I find this picture interesting because I wrote about a similar topic, associating masculinity to females. In both, we mention the large influence society has in forcing our youth into either “feminine” and “masculine” categories. Yet, I failed to put the responsibility on those who participate in our society, who have the closest relationship to our youth… our parents, our siblings, our school teachers, our coaches, and our peers, etc. We always blame “society” but never take it upon ourselves, as those who make up society, to make social change on a small scale level. One aspect I like about this photo is pink; pink socks, pink comforter, pink pillows, pink carpet, pink bracelet, pink nail polish and her outfit has pink flowers. The color pink has an overwhelming presence, which deflects any other thought the observer could have about this photo, besides the girl in it is considered “feminine”. Whether she truly likes the color pink now is subjective because she was always subconsciously coerced by society’s standards of normality. After scanning every pink object in the photo, you notice a few dark blue objects tucked away in the corner of the picture. It is not the main article, but still manages to make the picture and completely contrast the lighter colors. These dark blue objects could symbolize the small masculine influence she encounters as a female. She always has the ability to chose those items to use, but until society accepts that females can still be “females” without the color pink, or other acts of femininity, then those items and other factors of masculinity will stay tucked away.
You definitely conveyed your sister's dilemma accordingly, showing both side of her world; Masculine and Feminine. I definitely agree there is tremendous amount of pressure on young girls to display a feminine sign. Your mother is not the first time I have hear of the parents foreshadowing their "tomboy" daughter becoming lesbian in her future. Society has put so much pressure on Young children to follow societal structure and often take away their chance to be young and childish. Pink versus Blue is a prime example of society's expectations, if you have an infant girl wearing a blue onesie you can bet you will hear strangers go " that is such a handsome baby!". Blue is not just a masculine color, just as Pink is not just a feminine color, as your sister Cia has displayed with her choice of color for her backpack, water bottle, and lunch box. The way Cia is holding the two movies symbolizes her decision and how she would prefer Milan over Cinderella, you see this in the way she holds the Mulan movie higher and makes it the center of her attention. If you pay attention to the movies she's also holding it like a scale with her hands showing how Cinderella weighs more important in societal views than her views. Cia facial expression also shows a sense of dilemma kind of exhibiting her indecisiveness whether to go with her instinct or with what is expected. We must allow ourselves to let kids be kids and let them explore whatever they feel is right instead of pushing them towards what we think is correct for their gender and who they are.
From: Tyler
I think you did an excellent job of presenting your point and i love the way that you went about presenting it. Having her hold the film Mulan over Cinderella makes a powerful statement. While she is surrounded by feminine colors and also wearing clothing that only a female would wear she seems to be going against the grain by having an interest in Mulan which portrays a more masculine image to women than the prototypical princess film Cinderella. Many parents would rather have their daughter watch Cinderella and learn how to be a dainty and innocent princess than Mulan who is this avid adventure and go's against everything women are supposed to represent.
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