When
you are young, you are given a script which tells you what is acceptable for
your gender. Where it’s not good for girls to yell and hit and to not be seen
as aggressive and that they should play with dolls to be nice and that girls
like pink. On the other hand, boys can yell and go outside and fight with each
other but it is not okay to be seen crying, to be weak or to play with a barbie
doll . In the text “The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood” they talk about gender
schemas and how they carry into adulthood. They talk about how strong this
influence has become within these scripts and how much it affects children.
In my photo, I photographed my
younger sister and her nerf bow. Some of the creative techniques that I used
are color, line and camera angle. I chose to have my sister wear pink because I
wanted her to also stand out against the outside, but it also represents how
the gender scripts we learn when we are little can carry on into our later
life. It shows that these gender scripts don’t just leave us as we grow up. I
also wanted to show how she has followed the gender scripts by wearing a color
that is seen as feminine. I also wanted
the background to be outside because part of the gender script for girls is to
be clean and to be inside and this takes her out of the place you think of as
“feminine” and has her stand out even more against the green. I also wanted to
emphasize the camera angle to show how people view a girl playing with a “boy
toy”. She is being looked down upon because she is going against the gender
scripts that are for girls. Girls are supposed to be seen as submissive and
domestic which is why I posed her the way I did. I also had the lines of the
railing bring emphasis to her and had them going down to show how society looks
down at girls being seen as aggressive or as being tough. Another thing I wanted to emphasize is how
she has the bow pointed up at the camera. This emphasizes how she can be seen
as aggressive and this also shows how people can look down at girls that are
seen as aggressive.
In the text “The ‘Two Cultures’ of
Childhood”, they talk about the difference between boy and girl toys. For boys,
toys are normally hard and sharp, where as for the girls toys are normally soft
and smooth. They also talk about how children learn to interact with one
another. For example, girls are taught to talk out their problems but to not be
as aggressive when having a problem (if a peer has a toy that they want, they
should talk about sharing). For boys, they are more aggressive and to fight it
out rather than talking (if a peer has a toy that they want, they should take
it). One of the last things they talk about is how the sexes show hierarchy.
Foy boys, they will break out into violence and physically show dominance in
the hierarchy. Whereas for girls they will show it socially by talking about
people and how they talk about people.
1 comment:
From: Dustin
In your photo I notice the camera angle first and foremost, as it not only serves to show that girls are looked down upon by society for acting outside of gender norms, but also makes her look small in comparison to the large staircase before her which could symbolize society trying to minimize the existence of girls who have interests outside of what is intended for them. It also serves to make her look small and unimportant with the large staircase before her, with the staircase also potentially symbolizing the uphill battle of girls and women who want to escape the very limiting confines of traditional and rigidly defined gender norms. I also feel that the posing and possession of a weapon, something typically deemed to be for boys as they are taught to be aggressive through play fighting and conflict, is significant as it shows the will to fight to be rid of the standards forced upon young girls. This is in contrast to the idea of women naturally being submissive and acting as society would describe as ladylike, holding one’s tongue so as to not seem rude or undesirable to those who would seek to silence her voice and don’t care for her potentially conflicting opinions with their own. The weapon aimed up at the viewer could also be seen as a symbol for the sense of threat to the status quo a girl who won’t conform could bring about for those who seek to keep things the same, with her literally taking aim at that which limits her and her expression.
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