Women Who Rebel Against Beauty Standards and Gender Norms

From: Maddy

            From a young age, we are taught that boys like certain kinds of toys and play a certain kind of way and that girls like certain kinds of toys and play a certain kind of way. We also are taught from a young age that boys behave one way and girls behave another way.

            One thing we give our kids are toys to play with. Most of the time, these toys are gendered. The “Two Cultures of Childhood” article says that “Consistent with the general theme that boys are rougher, and girls are sweeter, boys’ toys (and masculine objects more generally) are hard and sharp whereas girls’ toys (and other more feminine objects) are soft and smooth.” The article also says “…but children rarely play with toys associated with the other sex, which happens for less than 5% of children’s playtime. Most likely children have learned to avoid being seen playing with toys associated with the other gender.” These two quotes show us that there is a clear difference between a boy’s toy and a girl’s toy and that the child does not want to risk being made fun of or looked down upon when playing with a toy meant for the opposite gender.

            Boys and girls also interact differently. Again, from the “Two Cultures of Childhood” article, it states “Competition permeates many of boys’- more so than girls’- play activities. Boys are much more likely than girls to construct and engage in overtly competitive games (often between teams of boys),” and “In contrast to boys’ interaction style, girls tend to avoid open competition or aggression. Girls more frequently engage in cooperation exchanges with each other, negotiate sharing arrangements and take turns without interrupting.” We see here by these two quotes that boys and girls are taught at a young age that boys act one way and girls act another.

            When a person, especially kids, deviate from typical gender roles, they are looked down upon and sometimes teased about what they are doing. A child’s choices about what they like and do not like ultimately creates how they act and what they like. It gets to the point where stuff such as shampoo/conditioner and body wash get gendered, but it’s just soap and it shouldn’t matter which one you like. A person’s choice shouldn’t be looked down upon just for their preference is geared toward the opposite gender.

            The creative technique I used was to try and make myself look small on screen and having the camera look down on me. The reason I did this is because I’m choosing the men’s body wash over the women’s body wash and makeup. When I was a kid, I was a tomboy (and still am), and I generally liked playing with boys toys and roughhousing than playing with soft, girly things. The culture generally looks down on a kid who likes playing with toys geared towards the other gender and likes doing things the opposite gender likes.