Gender Roles in Childhood

 From Madison: 

The story behind this photograph is an 8-year-old child playing dress up and applying red lipstick. I chose to photograph a child in a white wedding dress, putting on red lipstick to represent the how gender roles are influenced on women starting at an early age. Some creative elements I chose to portray in this photograph were color, space, camera angle, and symbolism. In the picture, the child is putting on red lipstick and a white dress; this represents the color that is influenced in media for children. Young girls are influenced by common princesses and status’ to be pretty and feminine. Red is a color of class and wealth, which is represented by many princesses in children's movies. Space is used in this photograph to represent the focus of the child one oneself, as women in girl-focused media is portrayed to be extremely focused on one’s look. The camera angle in this picture shows the child being consumed in this wedding dress, meaning the child is influenced by young female gender norms. The camera angle also shows how big the dress really is, showing envy of the typical wedding dreams and roleplays seen amongst many female children. The symbolism in this photo represents the restrictions and influences of the unrealistic idolization of beauty norms for feminine roles. The child in a wedding dress and putting on red lipstick shows how “different forms of role-playing reinforce traditionally gendered adult roles” (Rudman) and the roles are “stereotypically feminine traits among girls” (Rudman). This photograph represents the sexism portrayed in media directed for children, which brings me to talk about the Smurfette Principle and how that applies to this photograph. The Smurfette Principle explains “children's entertainment is mostly made by men” which places the male media influence on the child, creating a male-controlled subject that places masculinity over femineity. (Pollitt). This also places females below males, instructing female children to take much focus in ones look to please male figures in media (such as Cinderella). If young children’s media is created by male influences, they endorse gender norms such as how the women should act and adhere to male characters. Gender scripts are placed in children's minds at an early age, which defines the societal norms of masculinity versus femineity. This photo overall represents how young girls are influenced by unrealistic beauty standards that is shown in children's media.