When you’re invited to a little kid’s birthday party a present is almost always expected. As you walk into Toys R’Us to find the perfect present you instantly know which side of the store to go on whether it’s a boy or a girl’s birthday party. The girl’s side of the store is bright colors with pink everywhere, isle after isle of barbie dolls, My little pony kits, kitchens, and baby alive dolls. As you make your way to the boys side the bright colors fade. You begin to see superheroes, dinosaurs, tool kits, and NASCARS. Nothing you see on the girl’s side of the store will also be found on the boy’s side. In the article “The Two Cultures of Childhood” it states that children learn gender schemas from those around them in their social environment, but also independently adopt differences between them and their opposite sex (Bem,1981). Although it may not be on purpose segregating the girls’ and boys’ toys teach them these social rules about what is appropriate and not appropriate for them to play with. Through play time, interaction with other kids, and these so called “social rules” boys and girls are encouraged to develop a separate social world and culture between the two genders.
Shown in the picture Athena’s (left) options as a girl for toys that were given to her consist of baby dolls, princess wagons, and Disney theme objects. Adam (right) was given typical boy toys such as cars and tools. Other factors show the difference in their gender such as their placement in the picture and their clothes. Athena was placed in front of the kitchen as that is seen as more feminine whereas Adam was placed in front of a tool bench because that is seen as masculine. If you look closely at their shirts Athena’s parents dressed her in a white shirt with pink details that have flowers around the edge with matching pink Disney socks. Adam was dressed in a t-shirt that has a group of dinosaurs on it. At such a young age it is sad to see that Adam is expected to play with “tough” toys as he is supposed to grow up to be manly while Athena is expected to play with cute little girly toys and develop a nurturing role. In reality they both have a full imagination that they could use for any toy no matter what gender it was made for and should be allowed to have the option to either or without society looking down on them and having such silly expectations for two year old’s.
1 comment:
From: Katie
In the Two Cultures of Childhood, the first line states that, “Segregation both allows and encourages girls and boys to develop separate social worlds or “cultures” characterized by different activities, interaction styles, and social rules” (Rudman 59). These two kids in the photo I am assuming are brother and sister, and they are growing up in different social worlds. It is sad to see brothers and sisters interacting in segregated play and not playing with each other. However, the “social rules” indicate that girls play with pink dolls and feminine toys, while boys play with blue and masculine toys.
The way you positioned the camera and the kids in the photo also stood out to me. The camera is looking down on the kids and they don’t take up a huge amount of space in the photo. This gave me a sense of vulnerability and innocence with the two kids. This is because they are very young kids and they do not fully understand the idea of segregated play. They only know what they grew up doing and what their parents, peers, and the media said was alright to do.
Also, the types of toys in this photo stood out to me. Such as the two big toy sets behind them which are the kitchen and the tool set. This portrays gender segregation in adults as well because female “roles” include the stay at home mom type, cooking, cleaning, and the nurturer. So, having young girls pretending to be in the kitchen cooking and taking care of her toy babies is a good indication of what role they may play when they grow up. Also, with boys playing with fake tools show how men should take on more of the hands-on type. Men should be “strong” and be able to fix and build things, so boys play with these plastic hammers to show their potential role in the future.
Reference:
Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of Childhood." The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. The Guilford Press, 2015, 59-63.
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