This photo essay is trying to portray the many different sides of femininity and how our current media culture tries to “undo” it or challenge the stereotypes of femininity.

The following photo essay will illustrate how children perform gender in their imaginative play. Examples of the way play is gendered are the difference in dress-up clothes and costumes, the availability of cosmetics to children, and the stereotyped toys that lead to binary gendered thinking. By dividing elements of imaginative play using the gender binary, society reinforces the gender binary and heteronormative gender norms. When children violate these norms, adults punish the deviance rather than allowing children to play with the toys they want and have a variety of experiences with gender expression.

Socialization is a lifelong process, but when children are developing socialization is most important. Toys are often used to teach children how to think and what behaviors are appropriate. We use toys as lessons in the gendering process. Clearly, as we walk past a toy section in a store we can notice the gender division of toys based on presentation. The binary limits the types of toys advertised to children based on their gender. Further, toys reinforce the gender binary and gendered roles. Objects doing gender persuade how children do gender. All these photos were taken while I was shopping for gifts for my nieces and nephew. These were just a few of the options I was given.

This post is about how gender norms play a role in our every day life. I thought it would be interesting to compare the difference in self-care products used before bed every night. Items such as shampoo, conditioner, face wash, razors, and body wash, are worked into our life from the time we are a child. Scents and colors matching the gender we identify with. Not only is the packaging different for me and women, women are also pushed more items through marketing telling them to look a certain way and buy more products to make them beauiful. I decided to focus on the items my boyfriend has in his travel bag compared to mine. This is not the case for all women, some may not buy as many self-care products as me and that does not make them less femine just as a male having more products does not make him less masculine. But, from my point of view as a woman, I have felt the pressure to use more body and face products in comparison to my boyfriend. Therefore, I decided to focus on the difference between the number of our products, the packaging, and the purpose. Enjoy! 😊

Gender is a basic category of social life. It organizes and structures our social world and is a key component of social stratification. Through a sociological perspective, my photo blog post focuses on everyday objects such as: toys, clothing, and even cleansers, to show that “Stores Sell Gender Too” A Gendered Barbie? Femininity At Its […]