Gendered Party Favors

This is one of the best finds yet!

Observe..

"Regular" (read: the default = male) play money

























Play money for girls



Spotted at:
Dollar Tree


















It is interesting that the girls' play money is an entirely different color than the "normal" play money. Why is that? Why do we need to define what the "other" is with pink money? I suspect that it has a lot to do with the belief that girls wouldn't play with it unless it was packaged as a "princess party favor" and tinted in shades of pink. Making a separate "girls" play money (and other toys) creates an early gender divide and the need to denote women as the "other"; separate from the default masculine assumption. What if we offered pink play money to a boy? What would the response be? I can guess: "Ewwwwww! That's for GIRLS!!!!". This fosters a disparagement of the feminine and teaches girls to accept their "other" status. The assumption is that money is a masculine item. In order for women to use this masculine tool, it has to be denoted as different, separate, feminine. It is fascinating that the girls' play money is less realistic than the normal play money. What is the assumption here? Girls and women don't get to use the things that men have claim to. Interesting stuff..

Special Edition: Men's Toiletries

Men's toiletries have always fascinated me from a sociological perspective.

"If you buy this product, you will become a huge sex-machine, women will crawl all over you and you will become even more manly than before!" Check out these beauties!






Spotted at:
Dollar Tree, Safeway

Captions:
"Macho"
"Score"
"Axe: Dark Temptation"

Women's Earplugs

We women are so delicate that we need special pink earplugs apparently. Not those hideous, unfashionable MEN'S earplugs!!

Tired old gender tactics: all women love shopping, women should be concerned about beauty and fashion...blahblahblah

Spotted at:
Walgreen's Pharmacy

Product captions:
"Pretty in Pink: Women's Earplugs"
"Beauty sleep is always in fashion!"

Bunch of Old, White Dudes

Snapped this photo of past Criminal Justice program's directors in Washington State University's conference room while waiting to defend my Master's thesis.

Ironically, my thesis discussed how gender, race and class assumptions become institutionalized and embedded into law, practice and policy.

Beautiful resistance. :)

Masculinity and Socialization

I work at Old Navy as a corporate slave (aka: retail associate). On my way to my 15 minute break, I spotted this new infant t-shirt and shorts set. Interesting to say the least! What is the point of displaying masculinity on a baby's shirt? Socialization and gosh do we start early! It is a reminder of what it means to be masculine not only for the young boy to be, but for the other children and people around him; physical strength, emotionlessness (heaven forbid if a baby boy might cry!), violence, logical/analytical intelligence, compulsory heterosexuality, confidence and independence. Being tough, comparatively, is a subtle rejection of the feminine. Female is associated with weakness, lack of physical strength, unbridled emotions, homosexuality, passivity and dependence. This division has disastrous consequences, including the rise of violence against women, homophobia and deeply ingrained gender divisions in the workplace, home and school.

Check out Katz's film Tough Guise for a detailed analysis of the ways in which masculinity is instilled in young men and the consequences it has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI

Spotted at:
Old Navy clothing company

Product caption:
"Tough Guy"

Why Gender?

Gender is one of the central ways that we, as a society, organize ourselves. This process is so deeply ingrained in our practices that we are largely unaware of how gender affects and influences our daily lives, beliefs and experiences. While this categorization is arbitrary, gender has real consequences; many of which are negative, rigid and limiting. Gender is only one of the many statuses that are used to categorize our society, intersecting with race, class, sexual orientation and so forth. Gender, through these various dimensions of inequality, can manifest itself very differently. While gender is an important dimension to examine and is of central interest to this blog, it is not the only dimension to be examined. I plan to post interesting articles, images, products and concepts, examining their implications through the various dimensions of inequality with particular attention to gender and the reproduction of the gender binary and gendered expectations. Comments and discussion are welcome as long as they encourage open, non-judgmental dialogue and refrain from offensive content.