From: Karsyn
The photo I chose is of my young cousin, she is four and has
the biggest(Bossiest) personality I’ve seen in a kid her age. It’s amazing to
see how kids shape themselves, my cousin could be getting into her mother’s
make-up while wearing a ninja turtle mask and also putting barbie dolls into
monster trucks. It’s amazing to see the not so subtle differences between her
and other girls I often babysit her and her friend, her friend can want
re-enact Disney movies like The Little Mermaid and my cousin just wants to play
with nerf toys, dress up as a ninja turtle-captain America-police officer who
wears glittery high heels. Though taking a photo of her was challenging most four-year
old’s won’t sit still for two minutes but, by using the three fourths framing
method I cut off a good bit of the background to show my cousin just sort of
“voguing” and even though the picture is a three fourths type, I feel like her
presence draws her eyes in the little “power-pose” draws you in even more which
is why I love this picture so much because even with Captain America’s muscles
on and his abs she can still be beautiful and “girly” while also being powerful
and confident.
I
focused primarily on “The “Two Cultures” of Childhood,” the fact is for the
most part it is true. Little girls play with little girls and boys will be boys
with other boys, however I am amazed daily to see how certain children will
cross that borderline and seeing little girls being rough and tumbling in the
mud and acting under the category of “Boys will be boys” label. To argue with
that though we see little girls being accepted into more “manly” roles with
open arms that make fathers proud because their little girl is as tough as boys
but, the moment a boy tries to go into the more feminine roles he’s suddenly
devalued which as a culture I think is something we very much need to work on,
if a young boy wants to bake, draw, dance or anything of the sort that is
creative we put them down and tell them to man up.
There
are still so many problems with gender roles with children but we’re getting
better with letting girls do things that make them happy but at the same time
we cannot continue to elevate girls while we leave boys to squander in the dust
and train them into hypermasculinity because now they don’t only have to be
better than other boys but also other girls.
3 comments:
From: Bryce
The photo speaks to me as though the child is telling the audience that they are ready to take the slide down to the bottom of society, and that they are okay with it. Because in the end they are staying true to themselves.
The slide symbolizes an actual slide, but it also is a metaphor for a persons worth decreasing and degrading as they resist gender socialization, and the patriarchy even at such a young age.
From: P
I absolutely love this photo! If the child from “X: A Fabulous Child’s Story” was real, this is what X would look like. Some people would label the child in this photo a “tomboy,” but I feel that she’s just a normal child. Many people seem to believe that certain likes and dislikes are inherently masculine or feminine, but this shatters that false idea. I’m grateful that her parents allow her to be both a beauty queen and a kick-ass superhero because girls can definitely do both. This more progressive form of self-expression from a child highlights the importance of encouraging children to have their own personalities and enjoy their childhood, rather than forcing them into gender roles.
Speaking of gender, people viewing this photo may assume that she has brothers who influenced her love for Captain America, monster trucks, and Nerf guns. Whether she has brothers or not, they’re not in this photo and that is so important! Including her male family members in this photo would take away her right to be a human who likes what she likes simply because she likes them. In this photo, she is a lone wolf instead of somebody’s daughter, cousin, or little sister.
The confidence within her independence is inspiring, and I love her sassy pose. She is owning her hero costume as well as her heels. The world needs to see more of this; it creates a new narrative that, (surprise!) girl children can function and thrive outside of play kitchens and princess dresses.
From: Kelsey
I love this photo because it is not too often that you see a girl superhero. Normally, when girls play dress up they wear princess gowns with jewels and crowns. I was drawn to this picture because it shows a girl who can take on a strong superhero role while wearing heels too. She seems to be saying, “I am as strong and tough as a boy but also have my feminine side.” Her sassy face is showing that I am okay with dressing out of the norm and not what society expects me to. She seems to have a mind of her own, and doesn’t look forced into dressing in a police officer/Captain America built-in muscle suit with a ninja turtle mask. She looks like she is enjoying it, and chose the daring outfit to prove that girls can be as strong as boys. This photo is a good example of gender roles and it shows how girls can wear dark colors like blue and red and mix it with glittery heels. She is embracing her own personality and doesn’t seem to care what other people think. Her pose is fierce and shows her girl power. She shows off her confidant posture with a bold action shot and not the typical girl sitting still and looking dainty. Instead of being a princess in distress and waiting to be rescued by her prince, she can hold her own and take care of herself and not depend on anyone else. She can rescue herself and be her own knight in shining armor.
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