My Princess Boy Gender

Kohler-Flynn, H. "Gender and race portrayal in children's picture books: An analysis of recent Caldecott Medal winners." Australian Journal of Psychology 55 (02 Aug. 2003): 50-50. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Peirce CollegeLibrary. 5 Oct. 2008

Upon reading the book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture”, by Peggy Orenstein, I was extremely captivated to absorb the opinions that she had on raising a girl and all of the feminine influences that naturally surround her. The author herself had stated right from the first page how she initially wished for the child in her womb was a boy. My preliminary notion that joined this book to the course material was assumed before I even began reading, as several obvious details it became apparent that the book for sure had to be about gender roles and gender identity. The whole topic of princesses in the title, as well as the way the books cover flaunted pink and shimmery glitter it was just a telltale sign to have gender specific ties. That impression continued as I began reading the very first chapter boldly titled “Why I Hoped for a Boy”. There were such forthright examples making it overly apparent that she, the author, would be discussing the sexes, meaning girls vs.

This article, “No Way My Boys Are Going To Be Like That,” converses that young children are becoming aware of gender processing, which means

“I wish I could be a hero!” Many adults in today’s society hear small children wishing they could become heroes. Children wish to be more like heroes for the reason that heroes are the type of people who risk their lives to help others. Throughout history, children have had a positive connotation with the word “hero.” The heroes many small children talk about are the fictional ones who protect cities from villains: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and others. However, these are not the only types of heroes in today’s world. Firefighters and policemen are also considered heroes because they save the lives of those in danger. Many adults consider their inspirations to be heroes, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin

Although many are unaware, a rigid and relentless culture of outdated, and misguidedly created gender roles, act as an unofficial supreme law of land, and dictate how our society functions, and who it functions for. The strict structure of gender roles mandates how we behave, how we appear to ourselves and to others, and how we linguistically communicate, all of which play an immensely important role in our society. Even at the young age of four, children have acquired the social competence to declare whether a specific toy is marketed towards boys, or marketed towards girls, just by the outwards appearance alone; and while theses characteristics are not necessarily harmful or hurtful to the child at four years old, they can potentially turn adverse and inimical, causing harm to others in both physical, and emotional fashions. The wide spread concept and belief in gender roles has continuously through time been protested and thought of as a broken mold, and with a close analysis of the book Lord of the Flies, author William Golding, subtly, yet progressively, proves this notion through his intricate and convoluted method of storytelling.

These individuals would most likely point to page 17 where the teacher looked at is a female. Even though it is the little boy who looks up to the female teacher and says, “A teacher’s something I could be” (Berenstain), obviously this story puts women into a role to be the caretakers of children. Also, football boys and dancing girls only shows yet another masculine and feminine role which this story does not dare cross or object to. Instead, they further perpetrate this idea of everyone having their “place” based on their gender. This children’s book, aimed at 4 year olds, is clearly sexist and furthering that message into the youth’s

Stereotype is the most common issue that people get effect from superheroes. Due to the fact that superheroes are men, boys are the most effective group in the real world. Boys think that they should be “superheroes,” and they should be as strong and powerful as superheroes. In the article “Today's Superheroes Send Wrong Image to Boys, Say Researchers,” Psychologist Sharon Lamb, PhD, distinguished professor of mental health at University of Massachusetts-Boston told the American Psychological Association (APA) news interviewer about the influence of superheroes in boy basic on her survey, “She and her co-authors found that marketers take advantage of boys’ need to forge their identity in adolescence and sell them a narrow version of masculinity.”

Growing up is a naturally occurring life process that a young boy cannot avoid, and while growing up the pressures of growing into the expectations already set for them can be a lot. In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” David Sedaris states that when boys involve themselves in feminine related activities they don’t please the masculine idea that is set for them. This same idea is represented in the documentary “Raising Cain” where young boys are pressured with the idea of being more of a masculine character than a feminine character. In both of these texts, they put on view the troubles young boys have while growing up to fit into the masculine form already molded for them.

The way, in which gender roles are portrayed in children’s literature, significantly contributes to the development of children’s gender roles and how they are perceived by society.

In cartoon illustrations of children's books, such as one by Whitney Darrow, a girl is expected to act differently than a boy. Girly aspects include having to have a boy fix her toys, while boys do the fixing, enforcing the ideal that women are weak and men are made to take on dominant and powerful roles (Source E). This is clearly very demeaning and gives girls the belief that not only are they being unheard as a child, but for the entirety of their lives they must deal with oppression. In a turn from the tyrannical nature of children's books, a cartoon drawn by an artist between the ages of 18 and 28 depicts the image of a young girl drawing images of all different types of jobs that she hopes to one day be (Source C). For the theme, the artist was en-capturing the meaning of gender equality to them. The simple ability of having any job that they wish, should not be a dream for girls If from an early age one believes that they are unable to do something in their lives, it is clearly society’s fault for creating such gender barriers. By lifting that barrier, society is one step close at creating new and unique possibilities for the good of all

Gender reveal parties have become a way to celebrate the arrival of a new child for parents. Guests adorned in pink or blue attire await as the excited parents reveal what the child is going to “be”. Depending on the color inside the cake or balloon, the child’s life is predetermined based on gender normative stereotypes. These will dictate on his or her name, the activities that he or she is allowed to partake in, and the opportunities available to the child. This socialization of gender expression has led to a dominant culture or public of cisnormativity. Warner talks about publics not in general like the concept of “the public”, but they are a multitude of publics that can only be reached through rhetorical texts (). This means that if

This article will immensely add to my paragraph on childhood gender roles. "Children 's Gender Identity Development: The Dynamic Negotiation Process Between Conformity and Authenticity” provides evidence that child are indeed aware of the stereotypes that come with gender, and allow that knowledge to effect their everyday lives.

Renowned op-ed writer Claire Cain Miller in one of her articles, "Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes" brings our attention to the distinction between boys and girls for choices, this difference leads to the long-term notion of gender roles in the minds of the children. Claire's article is trying to sensitize the general public against gender difference. She tries to be sentimental by pointing out that the gender war started long before we were born, thus having the presence of a gaunt definition of what is for girls and what is for boys.

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

There is no doubt that certain books children read are made especially for boys or for girls. Like any developmental form of entertainment, from toys to movies, children's books are often littered with hints that dictate whether they were originally meant for male or female enjoyment. Sometimes these hints can be as simple as the specific gender of the main characters, for example Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series calls for a female audience while the extremely similar yet sexually opposite Hardy Boys mysteries fall into the hands of boys, yet other times more important factors decide who the book will best be suited for. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and Katherine Patersons's The Great Gilly Hopkins are books for a boy and a