From: Beth
Subtopic: The ways in which gender scripts are encouraged in children
From a young age we are taught what is “girly” and what is “manly”, these gender scripts can be taught through school, television, language, friendships, culture and especially toys. Toys are one of the most gendered aspects of our childhood. From the very moment we are given a toy we can begin to internalize what might be “appropriate” for our gender. In “The ‘Two Cultures’ of Childhood” written by Laurie Rudman it states, “girls’ pretend play often included assuming family roles, such as one playing the mother and another (or a doll) playing the baby” (Rudman 61). Boys will be given toys like guns, swords, and action figures. The text claims “aggression is a strong theme of boys' play” (Rudman 61).
The photo I took shows a singular “boys” toy, a muscular, red, angry Hulk, among a shelf of “girls” baby doll toys. Baby dolls are one of the main forms of play for young girls and can encourage things like nurturing, innocence and emotions, qualities deemed “feminine” by society. Saying it is “feminine” to be the care-taker can limit what young girls deem as possible for their futures. The Hulk embodies traits that are seen as masculine like dominance, strength, and aggression. Rudman states, “gender schemas associate maleness and femaleness with myriad different attributes, behaviors, and objects, defining ‘masculine’ as rougher, tougher, and more active and feminine as nicer, softer, and more passive” (Rudman 60). This character could potentially symbolize expectations for boys to suppress softness and emotions. Hulk is also seen as a “Hero” who relies on his power and dominance to solve issues, teaching boys aggression is a necessary trait to problem solve. In the Documentary “Tough Guise 2” it states, “William Pollack
introduced the idea of a "boy code," in which boys are taught from a very early age to act tough
and not show their feelings” (Katz).
This image uses visual contrast by showing the similarities and differences between a traditional girls toy and boys toy. The contrast of the muted babydoll pinks and blues against the bright angry red creates clear division. Color can also be a creative technique and certain colors can represent different things, the color red from The Hulk can represent power, danger, and anger. It is possible color can impact our emotions when playing with these toys too and cause the boys to feel anger. The image uses gaze by having the male toy at the center of the image and therefore attracting our attention first. The contrast of the faces is important, it is obvious the hulk is angry and making a mean face, the dolls have big bright eyes, soft features, and smiling happy faces, conveying warmth and innocence aligning with a more passive feminine role. The idea that we need to have boys toys, and girls toys seems outdated. Encouraging dominance, toughness, and power within boys, and emphasising emotions and nurturing among girls is creating a harmful divide. We need to blur the lines and tell boys it's okay to show emotions and tell girls they can be strong too. We can start this process from the second we put a toy in their hand.
Works Cited
Katz, Jackson. Tough Guise 2 . Media Education Foundation, 2013.
Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of Childhood." The Social Psychology of Gender:
How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. The Guilford Press, 2015, 59-63.The
"Two Cultures" of Childhood.pdf
2 comments:
This image closely represents the direct relationship between gender scripts and their effect on how children grow up. Boys and girls are very clearly distinguished by society from a very early age through colors, activities, tv shows and especially toys. The image captures this through a sea of babydolls, a stereotypical “girl” toy, with one hulk doll placed in the middle. There are many aspects that provide a clear contrast between these toys including the colors, one being a very strong red and the other a soft blue and purple. We’ve learned that colors are associated with genders and a lot of the time, toy companies will expand on this and it’s not uncommon to be surrounded by pink and blue in an aisle for little girls’ toys, while the aisle with toys for boys is mainly dark shades like black and green. The image captures this message through the alignment and quantity of the toys, it’s obvious that this was taken in some version of a retail store. It’s also very important to recognise the significance of the toy in the photo being a babydoll, a toy typically marketed for little girls. From a young age, girls are offered toys like babydolls, simulating real life events almost as if they’re preparing them and just disguising it. While a toy marketed for a little boy typically includes violence or destruction, which is shown through the very popular “hulk” included in the image. Through contrast and alignment, the subtopic of gender scripts in childhood is greatly conveyed in this image.
-Julia Vincent
From: Kelis
Hello Beth, I love the way you structured your photo assignment. The differentiation between girls and boy's toys is so bizarre, girl toys are often associated with child nurturing, and participation in household chores such as cooking and cleaning. As for boys, toys are displayed as powerful, aggressive and strong. We can identify photo elements and the significance of your subtopic: The ways gender scripts are encouraged in children. The amount of space taken up signifies the importance and valuable visual statement being made. We visualize this through the creative technique of color, the red plush signifies anger, and we can support this emotion of enragement through the expressions displayed on the plush. The muscular body traits display strength, while the expression signifies aggressiveness. In the back we see a variation of dolls accompanied by a pacifier and a bottle. Overall, the resemblance of these toys has become so realistic at resembling the role of being a mother. The gender schema theory heavily analyzes the distinction between male and female attributes created by societal norms, similarly the documentary “Tough Guise” explores a tough act created by society and the normalization of shaming boys for being expressive, so often we hear individuals telling young boys “Boys don’t cry.” This sentence is so impactful and heavily used, going into depth of this sentence parents often say this to a child to get them to stop crying, suggesting that being expressive of your emotions isn't considered masculine, and emotions are something that should be kept bottled in. In contrast women are often encouraged to express their emotions, society has painted women as soft, sensitive and dramatic.
Post a Comment