Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Gender Socialization
In Isabel's lecture, she focused heavily on gender socialization in children, whether it be through Disney movies or children's books. Yes, Disney movies are very gender normative. That is, the characters in the movies represent the stereotypical performance of man and woman. The woman is portrayed as skinny, fragile, and usually white, while the man is portrayed as hyper masculine, and also white. Compulsory heterosexuality is also extremely prevalent in Disney movies and books. So yes, the images that these kids are seeing and the texts they are reading are all sending them these underlying messages about or socially constructed society that views gender and gender performance as very strict. Any deviation from the norm is not socially accepted. I completely agree that children are being socialized by these books and movies. However, I think it is unfair to blame books and movies for the behavior, thoughts, and beliefs that these children will have once they mature. A child does not spend every minute of every day watching movies and reading books that depict this inaccurate representation of the population. I think a lot of times people get caught up with the gender socialization and they account all the blame of these movies and books. Don't get me wrong, they make a big impact in a child's life but the parents or legal guardians need to make sure that this is not all their children are exposed to. There are other factors that account for a child's thoughts and behaviors. For example, the behavior or the child's parents or legal guardians. If a child lives with an abusive dad, and a submissive mom, I am confident in saying that this will affect the childs behavior more so than the socially inaccurate Disney movies they watch on weekends. In conclusion, I think it's important not to ignore the other issues that account for a child's gender socialization.
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3 comments:
I believe as time progresses, and society becomes more lenient we will see a greater emergence of diversity in children's movies and books. We just read about the creation of "Tengo Una Tia Que No Es Monjita." I agree though, Disney movies so far really have lacked diversity. Jasmine from Aladdin is the only 'princess' not portrayed as caucasian, but the character is still given an Anglo-American profile and accent. A new Disney movie is scheduled to come out with an African American lead though.
Veronica Blattner
I totally agree with this post. Yes, Disney may be stereotyping by gender. However, I agree that parents are also to blame. In my SOC 102 class, we have looked at many social contexts. Think about board games...Boys are normally playing (and winning), while girls are in the background cheering them on. In terms of racism, a study was conducted with dolls. Both white and non-white girls chose to play with the white dolls. Therefore, it is important to note that Disney is not solely responsible for such stereotyping, as many other examples are out there.
I agree with Carla's post. It is important to remember that children are exposed to many different types medias and influences. I think it is also important to study how parents and guardians react to their children seeing things such as Disney movies. Do they take it as an opportunity to teach their children? Also many young children spend many hours in daycare or at school. What sort of messages are being being taught to them there?
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