In regard to Cinderella Ate My Daughter...Orenstein:
Well, although Orenstein spoke in understandable language, I found the main point of her article difficult to comprehend. She jumped from topics quite frequently, which resulted in abrupt cut-offs regarding the points she was trying to make. Nonetheless, I am going to share Mikaela's blog.
She gave the precise example of assumed gender roles that we were talking about in class based upon the Christensen article. Children often develop mindsets about particular occupations and positions in life depending on gender. Though these children are unaware of the term "Gender role" their enviroments imply the concepts so they are apt to understand it. Likewise, Orenstein highlights the idea of being a "princess," which many young girls idealize. I wanted to correlate "Princess" and the color pink, which Mikaela also wrote about. From my point of view, pink is a color associated with happy things, such as Easter Eggs, coloring books, and the hue added to toys to add a soft touch. However, in Orenstein's eyes, Pink is a gender color associated with mainly girls, and princesses. Mikaela commented on the part of the article where the vendor basically said that girls just like the color pink. Mikaela disagreed and attested that his comment was untrue. I liked her blog because it provided actual experiences to prove/disprove ideas brought up in Orenstein's and previous articles. In my opinion, it is not the object that affects people, such as a color initiating gender biases. Rather, it is the meaning that people attach to the object, such as what a princess is defined to be or what a color is associated with. I must say pink is for boys too--just look at the polos. Nonetheless, things like princesses and colors will always carry the traditional meaning. It is just our job to show that there are alternate meanings, redefinitions and understandings that show people that they have programed mindsets from the traditional norm, which is not always true yet frequently accepted.
To prove that pink is not officially a female color, just look in the dictionary. No where does it say that is is specifically for girls. This just shows that people have formed a meaning to it based on their own ideas. Take a look at these definitions of pink throughout my blog....none of them pertain to the meaning most people would associate it with.
Also, a princess really means someone with power and responsibility. Fairy tales do not define "princess" in this manner. Little girls are not thinking of this meaning, but rather all of the fun and pretty accessories that go with being a princess---tea parties, pretty dresses.
Can anyone think of any other words people typically have predisposed meanings of that aren't really true. Where might we get these ideas from.....and don't say the media!
I agree with your ideas and the ideas that you took from Michaela's blog. When talking about pink being a gender color, I agree with both of you. I don't think it is a gender color but can be a happy color like you said. I just think that this is how society views the color pink, especially when decorating their children's bedrooms.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that it does not matter what gender you are, if you are boy or girl you should be able to play with toys that are pink and blue. I also agree with you on how fairy tales do not define a Princess, and that they are not thinking of that they are just thinking about the colors and accessories that go with the toy. This has also something to do with the marketing companies who advertize the toys as not gender neutral.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog Ashley. You made some strong arguments about pink being a gender neutral color. Although it is usually associated with girls, the saying "real men wear pink" shows that we do not have to abide by these old fashioned standards. If a little boy decides that pink is his favorite color, who has the right to stop him from feeling this way?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading what you wrote about my blog. I'm glad that you enjoyed reading my blog. I liked how you had several definitions of the color pink throughout your post and your comments about how you associated the color pink with happy things. I also liked how you mentioned that they make pink clothing for boys too. Thank you for using my blog post.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about how boys and girls both wear pink, and that it is associated with happy things. I work in a day care in the toddler room, and we have dress up clothes that are the Disney princesses and we also have a firefighter, a police officer, a vet, and a doctor. The children (both the boys and girls) love dressing up in the princess outfits because they are colorful and sparkly. Most of them have no idea who the princesses are or what top or skirt goes with what princess. It is actually the boys who are the first to dress up, once the boys are all dressed then the girls up in the fun.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I love your blog post! I agree with all of the topics you suggested. I think that pink does need to be re-defined, because no one would ever question a girl who likes blue, but vice versa... that's another story. And Nicole, I also have worked with children and brought out dress up, and something I found interesting is the parent comments. We see a lot of little girls dressing like a police officer or a pirate and boys wearing lady bug and princess costumes, and the number one parent comment is "this is new for them, we don't have those costumes at home." When they only have batman and firefighters at home, why not dress like a fairy when they opportunity arrives?
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