Learning Femininity

From:
-->Jaycie
Sub-topic: List the various elements of childhood that are gendered

  The photos I took is of my niece Gwendy, age four putting make-up on her younger sister age 2.  This photo shows how toys and play pretend are gendered.  According to, “The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood States”, “In addition to sex segregation, another cross-cultural consistency in childhood behavior is the gendering of toys and activities.”  Gwendy is using real make-up out of a pink princess vanity to bond and play with her little sister.  This is also teaching her little sister, Callie, that girls are supposed to wear and play with make-up.  It is important to note that the vanity is pink, a color long associated with females, to further show that this vanity that contains play-pretend make-up.  The vanity is also adorned with Disney princesses, long known to influence how little girls want to dress and act.

     However, toys aren’t the only element of childhood that is gendered.  Clothing is also an important aspect of childhood that is gendered.  Both girls are wearing dresses, with Gwendy wearing a Disney princess dress.  Gwendy and Callie both have long hair, another social norm that helps us distinguish gender.    The type of play involved is also gentle and involves practicing and imitating beauty standards they see from their mother and other female role models in their life. 

  I chose to crop Gwendy’s face out of the photo only showing her reflection in the mirror to represent her mirroring or imitating her mother, female role models, and other female children.  I also choose to have both girls in dresses to show the norm of female dress, especially for younger girls.  Overall, I think this picture shows how girls are socialized from very young ages to fulfill female gender expectations of being dainty, wearing make-up, and being more concerned with fashion and image then our male counterparts.  This picture also shows how so many young women become image obsessed, self-conscious, and more critical of themselves as girls are taught at a very young age to always look perfect and to put effort into our appearance.

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Work cited:
Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of Childhood." The Social Psychology of Gender:
How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender ReSub-topic: List the various elements of childhood that are genderedlations. The Guilford Press, 2015, 59-63