Growing up I loved playing with my
baby doll. I was happy to take her everywhere, feed her, change her, push her
in her stroller, etc. so having and taking care of my baby doll was a big part
of my childhood. From my baby doll I learned how to be responsible, kind,
loving, etc. I specifically learned how to take care of her by noticing how my
mother, along with others, took care of their own children. As I took care of
her it gave me a sense of accomplishment because I felt like I was doing
something important. Throughout my life I received many baby dolls as gifts which
made me so excited that I could not wait to grow up and have a child of my own.
When I look
back on this cultural artifact I do feel slightly different. As a little girl I
grew up focused on ways to become a better mother in the future through playing
with my baby doll. I did not focus much playing with other toys like those related
to the career [doctor] I aspired to be. This is ironic because now I am more focused on obtaining a career than having children. When I think critically about the toy baby
doll I feel slightly negative towards the idea. I feel like it reinforces the idea
of society that a women’s primary role is to take care of her children. I say
this because It is heavily populated in the “girls” toy section and is covered
in colors associated with girls constructed through society. However, the toy
does have a positive impact by helping shape the personality of the child along
with developing helpful characteristics. I think the toy is a great gift but
the people giving the toy to the child should be aware of the message they may be inflicting on the child. They should also
introduce a variety of other toys that may seem “out of the ordinary” so traditional
gender roles are not reinforced, but this is just my opinion.
Hi! I like your post. It's interesting how pop culture tries to shape our gender roles at such a young age. We should be teaching our daughters that there is more to life than cooking, cleaning and nursing a child.
ReplyDeleteHilda, I love you're cultural artifact because of how much innocence it represents. I can relate to your post because I loved playing with dolls and pretending to take care of them. I also liked how you talked about how it gives you good characteristics and I would have to agree because it teaches you to be more caring and considerate. I use to notice small things like this also!
ReplyDeleteHello Hilda,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your cultural artifact analysis, girls are predestined to play with specific toys that are assigned to us even before we are born. I also while I was growing up I played with toys that were only assigned to girls but parents don’t pay attention on how important is let their child play with toys that don’t “fit” with the gender norm. I totally agree with your opinion on how toys help children shape their personality and aspirations.
Hi Hilda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post especially on the idea that as kids we don't usually understand that there may lie a deeper meaning to the toys we play with until we get older and reflect on what these toys have taught us. I know for me it was with Barbies and as much as I loved they also damaged my self-esteem. Now it is important to let girls (even boys) know that they are more than what society expects of them and that we are limited to specific roles!
Honestly I had never owned my own personal baby doll and growing up I had always thought it was a little weird because we were children ourselves taking care of another kid. I agree with you that girls are targeted to buy these dolls and cleaning supplies to create that perception of women need to grow up and only do these particular things. It was a really interesting way to put in perspective that it is still a highly advertised girl toy even today.
ReplyDeleteHi Hilda,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog. Its interesting how so many young girls like playing with baby dolls and parents don't think about the underlying message. Having girls play with these types of toys isn't necessary a bad thing but the message that these toys give off is. I wonder how the popularity of these toys came about. Its really interesting how these toys are so normalized and how gender roles affect kids as well.