Monday, February 1, 2016
Gender norms are the norm
In the essay “Learning to Be Gendered” by
Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet It talks about how gender norms exist
and why they exist. It talks about how certain names are feminine and other
masculine, how you dress baby boys up in guy colors and dress girls up in girly
colors. I believe gender norms exist because most likely a baby boy will like
the color blue and a baby girl will probably enjoy the color pink. Is that because
that’s just how they were brought up thinking? Or is it just how boys and girls
are? I think it has to do a little with both. In terms of how they’re brought
up, of course a dad wants his son to be a man who does manly things and of
course a mom wants her daughter to be a beautiful princess. So naturally the
parents will buy toys like trucks and footballs for their son, and doll houses
for their daughter, because that’s what they liked as kids, and what everyone else
expects a boy and a girl to like. I also think it's just something to fill
in the time before the kids grow up and become who they want themselves to be.
If a boy wants to be a manly man he can and if a girl wants to be a girly girl
she can do that too. A person is going to be who they want to be it doesn’t really
matter what they played with when they were a baby, it definitely plays a role,
but in the end gender norms stop playing such a big role. And a boy can become
more feminine and a girl can become more masculine if they want to. I’ve always thought baby
boys wore blue and baby girls wore pink just so that everyone and their mom
asks if it’s a boy or a girl I didn’t think it really mattered that much, but that’s
just my opinion.
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I find it interesting that you thought that baby boys wear blue and baby girls wear pink to identify the sex of the baby. It use to be that boys wear the pink and girls wear the blue until someone decided that pink was a "feminine" color and now we associate the color pink with girls. Eckert and McDonnel-Ginet say, "what they mainly need is the message that male and female children are supposed to be different". I think society brainwashes their children to think that boys should act/be one way and girls should act/be another way. Parents focus way too much on raising "good boys" and/or "good girls" and/or "big boys" and/or "big girls", rather than good people. I think gender norms should be like a crutch. Once an individual gains their own individuality/brand, they should be able to do their own thing without it be shamed upon.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part I agree with you! I also believed that most babies wore the color pink or blue just so that the people around them would know what gender they were. She explains that, “At birth, many hospital nurseries provide pink caps for girls and blue caps for boys, or in other ways provide some visual sign of the sex that has been assigned to the baby.” Just because a baby wore a pink beanie when they first came out the womb does not mean that the baby is now going to become a girly girl…. there’s plenty of girls out there that hate the color pink and plenty of boys that love the color pink. I don’t believe that gender norms are harmful…girls have dolls and boys have action figures, boys and girls both have Legos, and there’s a lot more. Nowadays, there’s more gender equality toys promoting kids to become whatever they want to be. For example, whenever I was younger I recalled being confused because Blue from Blues Clue was blue but she was a girl…and I’m pretty sure the pink dog is a boy. I wasn’t confused because of the color, but just because they rarely ever said what she was on the show. There’s plenty of things out there that go against the gender norm.
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ReplyDeleteI think I might also have to agree with you on the "girls wear pink, boys wear blue" dilemma. I was taught that "boys wear blue, girls wear pink" because blue was more masculine than pink; but I never understood why. However, Eckert and McConnell-Ginet explains this best with the process of naturalization. But are gender norms detrimental to society? I feel as if they are detrimental to our society when interacting with children based on gender norms. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet explains that gender norms comes from the parent's perception of gender. The perception, (whether boy or girl) affects how we interact with that individual. Boys and girl learn to be different by the way they are treated by their parents. According to Fagot et al., teachers are usually attentive to girls when they are talking and attentive to guys when they are demanding attention. As the boys and girls age, girls talk more and guys demand more attention. As they enter adulthood, however, girls feel as if they should talk less and guys express their feelings less. The roles shift. But why? Eckert and McConnell claims that the kids do gender themselves. By my analysis, I feel as if gender is doe based on the way authority interact differently with boys and girls. If the two genders were attentive by the same teacher at the same degree, I would feel as if there would little to none difference between the behavior of boys and girls.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Eckert and McConnell-Ginet bring up the subject of how gender norms can be harmful, I believe to a certain extent, gender norms are okay. The authors bring up the points of male and female names, colors associated with gender, clothing associated with gender etc. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet state,“But in fact, sex determination sets the stage for a life-long process of gendering, as the child becomes, and learns how to be, male or female”(738) When parents learn the gender of their child it is normal to buy female clothes for a female and male clothes for a male. Growing up, society influences gender norms but once a child turns a certain age, they have the decision to go by a different name or dress a different way. When I was a child my mother bought me barbies. I loved them for a while until I saw my little brother playing video games and LEGO’s. My mother saw how much I enjoyed the toys “meant for boys” and then got me my own set. My point is once children get to a certain age they establish likes and dislikes and what differentiates a good or bad parent is one that encourages individuality regardless of gender norms. As far things as matters as petty as color, I think it’s okay for hospitals to wrap a baby girl in pink and a baby boy in blue. In conclusion, gender norms are helpful to a certain extent but forcing a child to behave a certain way once they express their individuality is harmful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the points you made. I believe that a person will be able to figure out who they want to be and what they want to identify as, no matter what they did as a baby. It might be hard for them to express themselves just because of society issues but things are changing and it’s easier for individuals to express themselves today. I also agree that hospitals dress babies in blue and pink just so others around can know their sex. Like you said, some girls grow up to hate pink and some boys grow up to be more feminine. I think boys playing with trucks and girls playing with Barbie’s mattered back then but parents are learning to let kids choose what they want to play with and that can help a child identify who they want to be. I believe gender norms are okay in the beginning, just so people can identify if a baby is a boy or girl but once they start growing, they should have the choice whether they want to play with trucks or Barbie’s and wear pink or blue. When they start making these decisions, society shouldn’t shame them because they’re not doing what’s “normal”.
ReplyDeleteHey AJ, I really liked your blog because I completely agree with every point you made. The point you made about new borns wearing blue or pink is so true. When people have gender reveal parties they either have a blue balloon for a boy or a pink balloon for a girl. I think that when you're born your parents and society gives you an identity depending on whether you're a male or female because at that point in your life you're too young to have self identity. I liked the point you made when you talked about when the child grows up they can choose to be more of a tomboy or more of a feminine boy. But as a toddler you dress like how your parents dress you and even act like how the other same sex acts. I remember my three year old brother wanting to push his toy lawn mower while my dad mowed the lawn because my dad is who my brother could relate to. I believe, just like you, that gender roles is a little bit of both. It’s already wired inside of you, but your atmosphere has to do with it too. Awesome blog!
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