Thursday is Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes on Marinagraphy:
Discovered on YouTube and put together by Anne Forney for an Education Course, this is a primary example of gendered stereotypes and how the media upholds them by infusing our homes with them. Imagine how many of these commercials play in between our daily consumption of TV shows, and how many of these gender constructions invade the impressionable minds of our children. No wonder it is so difficult for people to get out of their heads the notion that women belong in the home and men belong in workplace as tradition and common practice. How else are they to think about the roles of men and women when they are constantly brainwashed by images of women cleaning the home and taking care of children while the men carry their briefcases out the door and to their jobs? Is this what we want for our children? Do we want commercials to define and limit their roles in life?
Of course, there is nothing wrong with the woman who decides to stay home and take care of her children as long as she knows she doesn’t have to, and that if she chooses to go to work, this does not make her a sub-standard mother or less of a woman. And neither does staying home to take care of his children make a father less of a man.
Let’s learn to deconstruct commercials and ads, and let’s take an active role in teaching our children that TV shows, ads, and commercials do not depict real life or real life gender roles. The more we watch them, the more we allow our children to watch them, the less chance we have in minimizing their impact on gender roles in our society.
Copyright© 2010 by Marina Delvecchio. All Rights Reserved.
I disagree to a slight degree. While I feel the same as you that it doesn’t diminish a man’s masculinity by being a good father or cooking meals and that a woman isn’t less feminine because she might have a carreer, I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with gender roles. I have 3 kids, 2 girls and a boy, and they’ve never been told “THat’s a BOY/GIRL thing” and that they can’t play with it. We have a toy kitchen…and it’s my SON’S because he asked for it for christmas when he was 3. My girls play there too- but he is the one mostly in it. However, gender roles aren’t just taught. They’re inborn. THey DO, as I am 100% sure of the fact, gravitate toward gender specific items. My youngest girl adores dolls. My oldest could care less about dolls, but loves to dress up in dresses and jewelry. My son likes anything that is a sword or super hero. And as a SAHM, they pretty much all watch the same movies and cartoons (very little television in our house) and read the same books together. I just don’t know when it became such a terrible taboo to be feminine and girly. A lot of times, what I take from anti-gender-role propeganda is that we should be ashamed of being feminine. I’m not brainwashed. But I like my girliness. And I’m not going to tell my girls they can’t be girly because they need to grow up and be a doctor and have a career. If they want to play with dolls and act like they’re vacuuming, then they are more than welcome. It’s what I do all day long- care for them, clean my house, and I love it. I don’t feel repressed or broken because of my choices.
Anyway, great topic to debate!
I am now following you from MBC. I would LOVE for you to come visit and follow me too at http://www.becauseidontscrapbook.blogspot.com (my mainstream mom blog) and/or http://www.thegossamerjewelbox.blogspot.com (my fictionally based Fairy blog- it’s just for fun)
Thanks!!
Thanks for commenting, fellow mom blogger. This is definitely a hot issue for debate. You definitely pointed out some great points about gender classifications. My son has a kitchen set as well, because typically, kids want to mimic what adults do: they see us cooking, cleaning, working, vacuuming, etc. and they follow suit. I just believe that commercials really target these “traditional” stereotypes in order to sell pink stuff to girls and cars to boys. If toys were gender neutral, I’d be happy. My daughter plays with her brother’s cars, and I can’t be happier. I grew up without toys, really, but I watched my mother work all day and go to school at night and at weekends for various degrees. I have been at home with my kids for the past seven years, but I have gone to school at night for a PhD, written two books, and teach college courses part-time. I don’t like to cook, clean, or do anything domestic — I’m trying to break the stereotypes in my household, so that my kids don’t assume gender-based roles they think they should. Every day they come home from school, they hit me with some stupid and antiquated notion of “girls aren’t as strong as boys” or “only boys do that, not girls,” and I have to explain that girls can do anything that boys can do and vice versa…in that sense, there is a lot of brainwashing going on, and it is present in our schools and in the homes. I just think we should all be aware. But I do appreciate your response to this post and to positing your views. We all see things differently, and it has a lot to do with what we grew up with. My childhood was anything but normal, so I see things quite differently than most people — and I’m OK with that. Jumping onto your site next. Thanks, again.
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Dear Marina,
\GREAT post. I particularly liked the end as I SO AGREE that we must learn to deconstruct what visual and auditory images we are constantly bombarded with. I am an educational / school psychologist and I have a parenting blog with a similar agenda to yours – promoting kids’ literacy and creativity. I would love a visit from you – look it over -maybe we could somehow collaborate!!! Also, I have just begun entering the world of graphic novels and education – using graphic novels to educate/sensitize kids to the visual messages around them.
Again, I’d love your comments too!
All the best and look forward to possible collaborations,
Meryl Jaffe, PhD
http://www.departingthetext.blogspot.com
We learn by mimicking adults. The adults around us usually. Mariana are you mimicking your mom? Classes at night to further your education? We are what we learn so its hard to break inherited behaviors.. ie spousal abuse, sexual abuse, infidelity ( see John Bradshaw’s THE FAMILY) so why not societal roles for gender as well.
Yes advertising reflects generalized accepted behaviors of the majority and exxagerates it to become a dramatic selling technique. Do girls graviatate towards pink or is it a learned behavior? And advertising reinforces the norm.
Why do women watch mens sports yet men will not watch womens basketball… and why? By watching women playing sport does it change their iconic role? Are men uncomfortable with this?
The bottom line is sexuality and recreation driven by hormones. Hormones we don’t have control over. We are what we are I think.
see E.O. Wilsons SocioBiology.
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