Toy and Activity Preferences

From:Sylvia

My photo assignment topic is focused on the theme "The Two Cultures of Childhood,” where the segregation encourages both boys and girls separately in their social world. Every child is taught to behave or do things in a certain way when they are growing up.  Beka between the ages of two to five begins to make her way to the forefront. The youngest of three sisters began to play with dolls and toy kitchen appliances, she is doing what most girls will do. Boys are known to play rough, and girls tend to be calmer. As to being a child, they know their toy preferences. Toys like trucks are for boys while barbies are for girls. Beka loves to wash, dress as always feed her dolls which is more of a female characteristics and duties. Comparing boy's toys to girl's toys, boy's toys are hard and masculine, and dolls are soft and flexible. Boys will play in a rough and extremely aggressive manner with their toys. Girls on the other hand treat their doll in a soft and smooth way. It is the learning of a gender schema. Children toys preference is a gender neutral as learnt in this course. Beka spends more of her time either playing with her dolls or pretending to be cooking with her kitchen appliances, and not cars or trucks. based on the article less than 5% of children play with the opposite gender toys. She has developed the perception that some toys are not for girls, and she will never touch them. Beka has taken dominion of her environment. She has gained power from what she learnt from society. In the reading of  ”The Two Cultures of Childhood” it is said that children are segregated by the means of their activities that affect their social life and interactions. The white carpet symbolizes purity, Beka at five years is known to be innocent and pure, she only does things she is seen and introduced to. The doll on the right-side is getting less attention because she got it dressed up and her focus on the other without clothes. The doll on the right had a blue and white dress representing purity and royalty, with a yellow bow in the middle which represents happiness and sunshine.  Children are full of happiness and the day always seems to be bright for them.

 

Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of Childhood." The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations.