Assignment 4

Personally, I feel a child, whether girl or boy, acts the way the other children do. Another factor is the family life because siblings play an important role in child development and characteristics. From personal experience, I grew up with three older brothers, two of which were constantly around because they still lived in the same house. When I think back to my childhood, I do not remember playing with Barbie dolls or playing dress up or anything of that matter. I remember wrestling in the basement and playing baseball and football in the backyard. Because of my family life, I was a tomboy growing up and never experienced any of the girly features of being a child. Since I did have only older brothers, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like if I had older sisters or even a younger sister. I think my life as a child would have been much different. Even trying to associate with the girls in school was difficult because they played beauty parlor and things that like. I was never exposed to anything of that sort.

Not looking at family life though, our society, through magazines and television, portrays certain images for both girls and boys. When a young girl opens a magazine, for example Teen, she is overwhelmed with advice as to how to get a boy to like you and the latest fashion trends as well as the skinny models that are in the pictures. Because of these models, a girl has an understanding that she must look like that and that’s the only way boys will like her, which is entirely false. Another part of society consists of the music videos. Watch any music and see the girls were provocative clothing and dancing poles. These children, who are not even teenagers, automatically assume their jobs. If it’s a girl, she thinks this is her duty to dance and be half-dressed for the boys. The boys, on the other hand, assume that a girl’s job is to please him. He is supposed to work but at the end of the day, the girl must cater to his every demand. If this image is being portrayed now, one cannot help but think about what these children will be like in ten, fifteen years.

I think in today’s society, people, not just teachers, need to be open minded to the different concepts that surround us. It was always said that when a woman is having a girl, she should be showered in pink. A boy should be completely blue. Why? This is strictly because of the norms. There are so many other colors that could be associated with girls and with boys and even both. If a boy wants to play dress up, he should be able to. Dress up shouldn’t be primarily for girls and sports shouldn’t be primarily for boys. There is a middle ground that should be established but because many people today are old fashioned when it comes to this, they simply see a boy playing dress up and automatically, it’s frowned up. These people do not realize that playing dress up is a sense of imagination and creativity. Also, if boys want to play with a baby doll, they should be able to. When the boys are playing with this toy, a lesson could be taught about how to nurturing and caring and how to hold a baby correctly. Everything a child does can be transferred into a lesson that benefits both girls and boys but in order for this to happen, people need to realize that times are changing. What used to be forbidden years ago is being accepted more and more common. The norms are always changing; they will never be set in stone. That is why it is imperative for everyone to keep an open mind.