In my photo I have a little boy on a skateboard, outside of a home looking off in the distance. I took this picture of the young man as I was looking up at him from below because I wanted to show that he is looked at as being held to a high standard. Society would look at a young boy that skateboards as being masculine because skateboarding is “a boys sport”. I put him in front of a house to show that he will one day be “the man of the house” and he will be the one to take care of the women in his family. As a young boy you are taught to be strong and to look out for the people around them. The young boy is looking away from the camera towards the mailbox to symbolize that he is looking forward to when he will be taking care of his own family.
Growing up with a little brother and little sister I see the ways in which gender roles hold a big part on everyday life. I wanted to show the skateboard in my photo to represent the toys that are mad for young boys. The skateboard is a contributor as a “cognitive associations of different… objects… with “male” and “female” (Rudman 59). The skateboard is an object or toy that has been associated with young boys because it is considered a rough play based on the fact that they have a high chance of getting hurt. The skateboard is a representation of the fact that boys play with more reckless toys and toys that could result in physical harm to show they are tough.
Having him stare off into the distance with a straight face shows that he, as a young man, isn’t supposed to show any of his true emotions. Based on the concept of Tough Guise, by Jackson Kant, men have to put up a front for the world to see. I wanted to show how young men from an early age are taught to hold no expression and to ‘look tough’ at all times. I have him standing in front of the house to show the relationship of men and how they are seen to one day take care of their family. He is essentially the guardian of our house, he is to be seen as aggressive to protect our home from any harm. Backed by the notion that men are supposed to be protectors over women and fight for their honor.
1 comment:
From: Josie
This picture emits a certain strength and seriousness to me. The boy in the photo appears physically strong because of his firm stance on the skateboard, which signals that he is sure in his masculine role as a boy who will become a man, upon whom people will rely. He also looks physically strong because of the camera angle, which causes the viewer to look up at him and look up to him as a strong masculine figure; this camera angle also helps the boy appear tall and physically imposing, which are traditional male physical characteristics that he will grow to embody more and more as he grows up. His strength is also emotional, since he is keeping a straight face, not showing any expression that could be a glimpse into a vulnerable emotion, which would be interpreted as femininity rather than masculinity. The boy could be feeling any number of things: stress, pressure to conform to gender roles, sadness, anger, confusion, insecurity, or even simple joy. Instead, society has contained him within a box marked “masculine” and forced him to adopt a neutral, bored facial expression. He fits into this “masculine” box also by the way he dresses: grey hoodie, black shorts (even though it may be cold outside, he could be wearing shorts to display toughness and strength), dark socks, and skater shoes. He is wearing an athletic outfit that shows he is ready, at any given moment, to be active and run, play a game or sport, or participate in a competition, which is how boys form social hierarchies and communicate with each other. The photo is serious because of his serious facial expression, but also because of the dark colors in the photo and the darker, bluer nature of the photo, which shows that every aspect of his life is shaded blue by the pressures of masculinity.
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