Gender: Forced Upon American Society Growing up, many Americans ' childhood consisted of playing tag outside, having cooties, and experimenting with as many toys as possible. Hundreds of thousands of toys flood kid stores such as Toys R ' Us, Baby Depot, and KB toys. With imagination, kids are able to become doctors, presidents, and princesses during the contents of one day. Television shows such as Barney or Blues Clues encourage having such imagination, thus inspiring kids to want to become one of the many options stores can transform them into. Walking into a regular toy store, people generally do not dissect the sexism that lays within the aisles, however, when walking in specifically to compare and contrast boys and girls toys …show more content…
In an interview US Weekly, the actress claims "She likes to dress like a boy. She wants to be a boy. So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys ' everything. She thinks she 's one of the brothers." This is a prime example of going against society, and allowing kids to grow up independent and intellectually choosing who they want to be regardless what of peers, religion, and society may conclude. Although I too was raised this way, I am now aware that being forced to be part of a certain group because of something that you where born with is simply immoral. I, like most of the people I am surrounded by, have fallen victim of being forced to be a gender, and if future generations can pin point this issue that has gone to far, our future kids will be able to express themselves in a manner in which they feel liberated, and no longer deemed to be accepted by society.
Work Cited
Knox, David, and Schacht, Caroline. Choices In Relationships: An Introduction To Marriage and the Family.Belmont: CA,
Author, Unknown. "Angelina Jolie: Shiloh Wants to be a Boy" 28 JUNE 2010 page 1
Angelina Jolie 's daughter Shiloh, often confused for a boy.
Blue and green and dominant colors in the boys aisles.
You and me, Referring to the baby doll and the child buying it. Pink is forced upon girls, and seeing a boy engaging in these aisles has been
When she was young her father always said to her: “I wish you were a boy”.
She was born as a male but she has stated that mentally and
In the world of toy marketing, choices are made with direction put in place for both genders (girl and boy). For example, as I walked down each toy aisle, I felt the gender conformity among the parents as they were with their children. With multiple aisles and two dominant colors (pink and purple) designated for girls, the message (in my perspective) marketed on the toy package yelled: “Your ambition is to be stylish, while a nurturing mother who partakes in domestic works!” In addition to the toy packages being in pink, the words (on the toy) were predominately frivolous and amusing. On the contrary, the boys’ aisle contained wide varieties of colors, although the color blue caught my eye the most. The boys’ toys entailed sports, building sets, as well as action figures. Conversely, the message in my perspective, marketed on the toy package screamed: “You have the power to do whatever you want; however, it is imperative that you build yourself physically, as well as train yourself in order to properly excel.” This type of act, referred to as the social role theory—“a gender difference that mainly results from the contrasting roles of females and males” (p.165),—gives a great cause of difference in gender regarding power, nurture, and
The toy section at Target had many clear differences in the toys for boys and the toys for girls. The types of toys that were out on the shelves were different, but also the way the toys were presented were different. Girls toys mainly consisted of stuffed animals, dress up clothes, babies and dolls including Bratz, Barbies and fairies. The primary colors of all these toys consisted of different shades of purple, pink, and white. There were bits of blue and yellow but it seemed that all the colors stood out and had a type of feminine aspect to them. Besides color, the girl’s toys were often soft and fuzzy or
Claire with help from sociologist Elizabeth Sweet, they attempt to go back in time trying to find the cause of all this. Before the 1960s, girl toys mainly focused on homemaking and boy toys were centered on the industrial economy. This research shows that all this changed significantly with the rise of feminist movements in the 1970s. The change did not last long as in the 1990s, and gendered toys came back with a bang! With action heroes and princess in the market.
The theme of prejudice and fear experienced by transgender and intersexual people can be observed all throughout Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She. At the very beginning of the documentary, this theme is illustrated through the murder of Gwen, a transsexual teenager. She had had sexual relations with two of her murderers who exclaimed, “I can’t be gay!” when they discovered she was a transsexual. They viewed Gwen as a boy pretending to be a girl, and beat her ruthlessly until finally strangling her to death. Her mother’s greatest fear was that her daughter’s transition might result in her ultimate demise, a fear that materialized into a horrific nightmare. Another instance of prejudice found in this documentary can be found in the story of Noah, an eight-year-old child with male anatomy that identifies with the female gender. Noah lives in the American
When someone is pregnant, people will usually ask for the sex of the unborn child thus proving that people are socially categorized from the beginning of life and is something that is continued throughout life. One is expected to behave the way their assigned gender is supposed to behave. Gender socialization is when people are expected to act a certain way based on their “gender”. Through the following agents: family, schools, peers, and media, gender socialization is emphasized and made very real in the world today.
Living life this way was hard on Brandi, she knew that her genders didn’t match. She was born a boy but clearly identified as a girl (Serano, p. 27). By the time she reached high school she still kept the behavior she had as a child. No one could identify with her. She spent years in counseling, having therapist after therapist trying to work out her problems.
In an article “'Why did God make me like this?': Parents share incredibly moving film about having a transgender son and why they decided to let him change gender and become a boy at age five” by Snejana Farberrov discuss how one family embraced a daughter transgender by cutting her hair and using male pronouns. The girl who name is Ryland told her parents, she was a boy and from then on more and more they started to treat Ryland as a boy. She told her parents at a very young age that she was a boy.
Toys also influenced children with gender roles. In our society, the typical expectations of men is to financial support the family, and for females it’s to cook, clean, and take care of the children. “Both wives and husbands tend to perceive this as a “fair” arrangement” (Zimmerman 30). To instill this idea in young minds, there are toys that influence these gender roles. Boys have toy tool sets, promoting hands on work. Girls on the other hand have cooking and cleaning toys such as the Easy Bake Oven or toy vacuums. Also “parents tend to encourage more gender-typed activities. One study found that household tasks differ along gender lines. American boys are more likely to mow the lawn, shovel snow, take our the garbage, and do the yard work, whereas girls tended to clean the house, wash dishes, cook, and baby-sit the younger children” (Newman 133). Girls also like to play “house” fostering wife and motherly qualities such as taking care of the family. These toys help with socialization making children believe and understand that these are the norms of our society. So in conclusion to toys, “Sex-specific toys foster different traits and skills in children and thereby serve to further segregate the two sexes into different patterns of social development. “Boys’ toys” encourage invention, exploration,
Many members of the transgender community treated harshly and unfairly in professional and social settings. This leads to violet mental health problems, and devalues the lives of many productive members of society. A term used for people who identify as a different gender than the sex they were born with. Gender Identity- One 's personal concept of whether they are a man, a woman, gender non-conforming, bi-gendered, etc. Gender expression- The external representation of one 's gender. Sex- The anatomical categorization of male or female that one assigned to at birth. “I do not look like a little girl. I am a little girl. This is what five year old Josie Romero claimed in National T.V (Innes 5) Biologically Josie was born as Joey a male but now she identifies herself a female (1). Many accuse and criticize
Boy Meets Girl: A Reflection Paper This paper analyzes the film Boy Meets Girl. The story within the film revolves around a transgender girl navigating her life space. The film will be critiqued on its portrayal of LGBTQ persons, relation to course material, cultural factors, and discrimination/oppression of the main character. Finally, the paper concludes with a personal reflection.
The stores are designed very well, the gender socializing aisles even stick out to the children shopping. They are able to determine which toys they want, and also which toys are socially acceptable for them to choose. While I was observing in the store, I even heard one child tell his mother that he wanted to go to the boy’s aisle. They were shopping in the girl’s toy aisle at the moment with his sister. This occurrence really popped out to me because it portrayed the evidence that boys want the toys that are advertised to them and geared towards them, whereas the girls want the toys advertised to
Gender socialization often begins early once parents are shown the sex of their child; from then on, baby showers are planned according to gender “appropriate” colors, which are often pink for girls and blue for boys. Even differences in how children are spoke to can be picked up easily in Western cultures. Girls are called pretty and sweet, whereas boys are handsome and strong. Ultimately, the way children learn to identify with their gender culture is in part due to not only family and friends, media, schools, and religion, but also from the toys that may inexplicitly advertise gender expectations. Gender-typed toys may be bought for children as a way for parents to encourage and reinforce gender-appropriate behaviors. However, recent debates have engulfed toy manufacturers and major retailers, which has brought about changes in toy design and marketing in an effort to make reflect more realistic and gender neutral options.
Going into different stores, one can easily pick up on the major gender roles each store supports. Even the morals of an innocent toy store, such as KB Toys, is tainted by the gender-differentiating dolls for girls, and trucks for boys. Upon entering the store you can tell right away which aisles attract which kids. To the left there is pink fluffy bears, pink Barbie and friends toys, white teddy bears etc. To the right there is a less vibrant color setting, coordinating army green, black, and gray color schemes. I think it is apparent to anyone who enters these stores that the pink pretty isles are meant to attract little girls, and the dark green and gray isles are meant to attract boys. Upon the packages of toy trucks and guns, there are pictures of young boys playing with them and/or cartoon male figures controlling them. On the packaging of Barbie and her friends there are also other girls on the packaging. I was unable to pick up on a single female on the package of any toy truck or gun throughout the entire store. The