Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Why can't boys play with dolls?
As I read through the chapters, I thought back to my trips to "Toys' R' Us, KB toys and Wal-mart." The Hilo Wal-mart's girl section is a pepto bismol pink color and with dolls and tiny puppies. The boys section is full of guns, trucks, manly man toys. Though I realized and noticed the sexism in the aisles, I did not look into the detail as the author did. In preschool, I have seen some of the same segregation of genders as in the Toy Stores. I currently have a child who enjoys role playing the opposite sex and doing "girly" things. He is a middle child of three boys, his mother is raising them on her own, and he father has a TRO and won't be around anytime soon. He is often found in the dress up area, create head bands for himself and other children, he likes to play the dad and mom during dramatic play. When the mom comes to pick him up and see these behaviors, she scolds him very quickly. You can see his soul crush and his happiness goes. What is so wrong with boys playing with dolls? For my own child, one of her favorite toys is a football. It worries her father. She is 15 months. I am not worried. Sex is set by anatomy and gender is set by society. As a preschool teacher, are we suppose to teach society rules or let the children find their own rules for what they would like to be in society. Our job is guide, right? Should we just focus on general behavior and let society teach the rules?
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Hi Jess,
ReplyDeleteCan societal rules limit the experiences of children, especially if the children do not fit in with societal "rules"? For example, how might a gender variant girl or boy have experiences that support her/his view of the world? Can societal "rules" be challenged and rethought through the early childhood classroom? Or should a classroom be a reflection of societal rules, no matter who they leave out? What might be the teacher's role in disruption and negotiation of "rules" that may leave people out?
Jeanne
Hi Jessica!
ReplyDeleteYou made good points. If we let children have free will during play time and create gender neutral experiences are we setting them up for failure when they do enter society? How should we discuss gender bias issues with children or do we even need to at all? I feel as early childhood educators we should have an environment that is gender neutral and allow all types of children to experience every type of play they can. I feel it will give them a better sense of themselves and hopefully that confidence will reside when they enter society as the unique individual they are.
Can we set up an environment where children explore everything without the societal "rules" and let them experience what feels comfortable for them -- without judging them as odd or different? Are we okay with people who choose not to follow societal "rules" so as not to try to influence them to conform?
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI too have a three year old boy at my center who loves doing those similar things. At school he loves to be the teacher, his favorite color is pink and he loves pretending to be the opposite sex, but his favorite activity is dancing hula/Tahitian. His mother is a full time student and father is out to sea on deployment so grandparents play a big role in taking care of him. We teachers love that he is the way he is and we encourage him to dance as we feel it is when he is most happiest. Should we stop children from doing the things that make them happiest just because they dont fit in with societies normal ways? How do we encourage or support families values on sexism and what the average little girl and boy should be doing and playing? Is it fair to them? Children should be allowed to play with any toy they desire because it is appealing to them. Toys need to be more versatile and less sexist.
Aloha, KIRA
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteShould we let society teach our children gender roles? I feel that people are what define society. So if a boy wants to play with a doll and learns to become a nurturing father model, is that a bad thing? In my eyes, I feel that educators are here to guide children in play that interests them and will allow he or she to gain skills that will help them daily throughout their lives. Toys in the stores do not help bend the society rules of what is a boy toy and what is a girl toy. I also feel that it is a huge influence on the impression of what little children define as a girl and boy toy or even choice of career. Should stores reorganize their toy aisles? Should advertising and labeling be more unisex?
Chelsey