Response 2

Make-up and Hot Pink Toe Nails- Not Just a Girl Thing

“When a 17-month-old boy is beaten to death for being too “girly,” a 5-year-old is accused of being gay for choosing to dress up like Daphne from Scooby-Doo for Halloween, a boy who likes pink dresses causes headline news, and a high-school football player is kicked off the field for wearing pink cleats during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I think it’s more than obvious that social expectations regarding femininity and masculinity continue to be incredibly rigid, stifling, and too often dangerous.”  Before finishing the article by Melanie Klein, I went through and read each attached article in this statement. I’m horrified by how judgmental and discriminative our society has become. While trying to keep up with the social “norm” we have gotten out of control.

A quote by Melanie Klein in this article states, “The values and norms of a society are framed by the branded images and lifestyles consciously and carefully constructed by advertisers seeking to maximize profit.” While we don’t like to believe it, this statement is so true. The media plays a huge role in portraying what is and isn’t acceptable in our society. For instance, young boys are expected to play with trucks, leggos, action figures, and it is assumed that they love all things blue. Little girls are expected to play with barbies, dress up clothes, and all things pink. These norms are presented to us at an early age and are carried on into adulthood. But what happens when a child chooses to play with a toy that doesn’t fit into the norm? Should we keep them from doing something that makes them happy just to keep them from being different? Everyone wants their child to grow up to be accepted in society, so we imbed beliefs at a young age that they need to fit in. The majority would agree that it isn’t acceptable for boys to play with dolls, or wear make-up, or to wear pink. Why is this though? Is it an unspoken fear that they may grow up to be gay? At a young age, children are still innocent and naïve to these norms…I don’t understand why we can’t just let them choose their own path and do what makes them happy rather than worrying what our society has labeled normal.

In this article, Klein responds to a recent J. Crew advertisement. This advertisement shows a young boy and his mother painting eachother’s toenails. She refers to this ad as a “breath of fresh air”. Showing that the two of them are just having pure, innocent fun proves that pink doesn’t have to be just for girls. No one wants their child to grow up as an outcast in school, or to be picked on for being too different, but we shouldn’t live our lives according to the media. I understand, to a certain extent, why we have set certain standards for gender roles, but taking it to this extreme is ridiculous.