In “The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood”, the author expresses that from a young age, girls and boys are conditioned to associate with certain roles. These gender schemas are perpetuated through child socialization and the types of toys that are marketed to them. The more children play with others of the same gender, the more segregated the two groups become even though both boys and girls play pretend games and play with miniaturized human figures. Adjustments are made to these activities and toys to further emphasize the differences between boys and girls. Boys tend to be rougher with one another and utilize role-playing to assert dominance. Even their toys are aggressive and portray tough, active figures. Alternatively, girls are much more passive and take on more domestic, familial based roles. Girls’ toys are delicate and soft.
“In one study, researchers transformed a pastel “My Little Pony” by shaving the mane (a soft “girlish” feature), painting it black (a “tough” color), and adding spiky teeth (for an aggressive demeanor). Both goys and girls classified the altered pony as a boys’ toy, and most of the boys (but not the girls) were extremely interested in obtaining one.” (Hort & Leinbach, 1993, cited in Martin, 1999)
Even though it was the same toy, the small changes that were made to the toy was able to completely change the demographic of the children who wanted to play with it.
These toy and activity preference reinforce differences between the genders and the differences are carried out into adulthood. Men are seen and expected to be strong and powerful while women are seen and expected to be caring and nurturing. Furthermore, men are more dominant while women are subordinate. It is as if women are living in the shadows of men,
In my photo, the two objects displayed are two piggy banks. The piggy bank in the foreground is shaped like a soccer ball while the other is a pink pig with princess decorations on it. Although they aren’t toys, they’re still two items that serve the same purpose but are much different from one another because of the gender they’re being marketed towards. The one that looks like a soccer ball is clearly marketed towards boys as boys are more expected to enjoy sports, especially a contact sport such as soccer. The other piggy bank is pink (a stereotypically female color) with princess decorations because girls are expected to enjoy being dolled up and being a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by a boy (subordinate). I chose to put the soccer ball piggy bank in the foreground to represent boys as being dominant while girls are in the back, living in the boys’ shadow.
3 comments:
From: Capri
In Jenny’s photo “Piggy Banks of Two Different Worlds” she recreates the two cultures of childhood. She displays two different styled piggy banks to represent the obvious difference between boys and girls. Jenny goes on further to discuss the major differences that society forces upon male and female. This photo represents that it starts at an early age. This picture also is very relatable to me because my brother and I had the exact same piggy bank. I like the creative elements she used to display the message. To add on to Jenny’s element of spacing, the focus is majority on the soccer ball (males) this could symbolize how the world is focused on males. How the world literally runs of males being the lead. I also would note that the other creative element would be the background. The background is very clear and open, lets the audience really focus on what is the main topic. The soccer ball could symbolize how sports are a boy’s only form of interest. The parents of the child could have got him a blue piggy bank but instead they chose a soccer ball. The little girls piggy bank is pink with nice cursive writing on it. This difference between the two is easily shown to depict the “Two Cultures of Childhood”.
In Jenny’s photograph of “Piggy Banks of Two Different Worlds” she emphasizes the two cultures of childhood. She does this by displaying two different styles of piggy banks one to represent male and one to represent females. In Jenny’s essay she explains that society forces different gender roles on males and females. By choosing to take a picture of these piggy banks the photo represents that gender roles are often enforced early on by parents. I agree with the creative elements that Jenny used in the photo. I believe that the two piggy banks are symbols the soccer ball symbolizes masculinity and the pink one represents feminism. I also think the use of spacing represents how as a society we focus on masculinity. As we discussed in class society for the most part has been run by men. For example, if we see a girl playing with a toy that is gendered towards boys, we give her positive reinforcement but if we see a boy playing with a girl toy, we shame him and challenge his masculinity. I think another creative element being used is the difference of color between the two piggy banks. The color pink can represent a sign of weakness and always needing someone to aid your rescue. The white on the soccer ball piggy bank can represent purity but the color black can represent aggression and toughness in males. Gender differences between males and females are illustrated in this photo that represents “The Two Cultures of Childhood”.
In Jenny’s photograph of “Piggy Banks of Two Different Worlds,” she talks about the two cultures of childhood. She uses two types of piggy banks in her picture One that was meant for a boy and the other for a girl. She talks about how society forces different gender roles in girls and boys. With these two piggy banks, it shows the piggy bank for the girl is pink, has a flower, a tiara. While the Boys piggy bank is a soccer ball. The piggy banks are indeed symbols as Jenny said. The soccer ball symbolizes masculinity and the pink one represents feminism. The way she positioned the piggy banks is all so a symbol. By having the boy piggy bank in the front and the girls in the back. It represents how society views men and women. How men are higher than women and are always in front. I think another creative element being used is the difference of color between the 2 piggy banks. Pink can represent being fragile, delicate and always needing someone to come to their rescue. The white on the soccer ball piggy bank can represent purity but the color black can represent toughness in men. Gender differences between males and females are illustrated in this photo that represents “The Two Cultures of Childhood” was done very well and I think it is a great picture.
Post a Comment