Society is inherently judgmental,
this is something that I have learned in the short time that I have been a
sociology student. The world around us could actually dictate who we are and
what we should become, it indirectly affects how we act and how we perceive the
world and our reality.The video made me realize how
unblemished, how innocent and how fearless a child is when it comes to the
harsh realities of the world, their innocent minds enable them to question
reality without fear, they are able to voice out their opinions without
thinking of what other people might think thus hearing a child speak out her
view makes me wonder of how twisted our society is.Gender seems to be a topic that
interests many; there are cries of gender equality from all over the world and
even in the UPLB campus. Our society now seems to be fascinated with issues’
regarding gender and sex particularly that of equality and marriage; however
these issues seem to be more on the macro level which I think is the opposite
of what the video was trying to depict. I think that the point of the clip was
clear, gender biases are already ascribed even at a very early age, something
that is widely done yet at the same time something that we do not easily
notice.
The video shows a little girl questioning the reason behind the classification of toys in a department store, the child asks, Why are the toys separated into girls’ and boys’ sections when either gender could actually choose to buy or play whatever toy they like. Shallow though it may seem to some, it actually tells us that the issue on gender can be seen even in the earliest stages of socialization.As I have said earlier society has its way of shaping our reality and of controlling how we think, children at an early age are already taught that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, a simple choice of color would actually dictate how the world would perceive you.
The toys in a department store are classified in such a way that gender stereotyping is clearly seen. Children are actually led to believe that robots are the toys of choice for boys since they actually depict manliness and strength while girls are socialized into thinking that princesses are the perfect role models as they are shown to be beautiful and charming and at the same time they also have a prince who is their true love.Drawing from these gender stereotypes I can say that in a way children are brainwashed into thinking of what an ideal boy or girl is. We are fooled into thinking that something is right or something is wrong. We are brought up in a way which socializes us in a particular way of thinking which in some way hinders our capabilities to think critically, thus we are coerced into accepting what our society thinks.
We as a society are forever imprisoned into what society expects of us, we are afraid to be judged, we are afraid to step out of our comfort zones for we fear what others might think of us, thus we are discriminated, we are silenced and in a way we are fooled.
Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling said “It’s our choices, Harry, that make us what we truly are, far more than our abilities” and I could not agree with him more, our choices could actually define who we are. In this case our choice would actually dictate one’s gender preference. Taking into context Philippine culture with our masochist values, we are actually very critical of a little boy playing with dolls and we actually brand them, more often than not as gay. On the other side of the spectrum a girl who prefers to play with guns and robots are also labeled as “tomboy” or lesbian. What I’m trying to say is that our choices can very well define how others see us but I believe that how we see ourselves is more important. People can call us names and label us but then only one’s self can define who and what we really are.
Going out of the box has its consequences, deviating from the norm would also cause problems, however one must still stay true to who and what they are. Let the children choose what they want, they are children after all. They should enjoy life the way that they want it, not only children for that matter, but each of us must enjoy the life given to us the way we want it to be.
The little girl’s rant on the video clip tells us that we should be given the chance to choose, we are not puppets to be controlled, we are human beings with our own mind, and even children are capable of choosing what is pleasing to them. We cannot just let society dictate who we are, at the end of the day we are our own being.
How we live life is something that we choose, it should not be given to us by anyone, how we think should be uniquely our own. Yes society can influence us, but then even that influence has its limitations, we were given minds to think and be critical and we should exercise our right to choose and be ourselves.
Society has its own idea of what is accepted and what is not, I am not saying that society is all bad, but then we should learn to question the things around us, all of us should be like the little girl in the video who was not afraid to question what was already accepted. We should be open to the idea of change and idea of something being different. We are our own unique persons who are able to think for our good and betterment. The little girl had a point, we should be given the chance to choose for some things really are not given rather they are actually chosen.
The video shows a little girl questioning the reason behind the classification of toys in a department store, the child asks, Why are the toys separated into girls’ and boys’ sections when either gender could actually choose to buy or play whatever toy they like. Shallow though it may seem to some, it actually tells us that the issue on gender can be seen even in the earliest stages of socialization.As I have said earlier society has its way of shaping our reality and of controlling how we think, children at an early age are already taught that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, a simple choice of color would actually dictate how the world would perceive you.
The toys in a department store are classified in such a way that gender stereotyping is clearly seen. Children are actually led to believe that robots are the toys of choice for boys since they actually depict manliness and strength while girls are socialized into thinking that princesses are the perfect role models as they are shown to be beautiful and charming and at the same time they also have a prince who is their true love.Drawing from these gender stereotypes I can say that in a way children are brainwashed into thinking of what an ideal boy or girl is. We are fooled into thinking that something is right or something is wrong. We are brought up in a way which socializes us in a particular way of thinking which in some way hinders our capabilities to think critically, thus we are coerced into accepting what our society thinks.
We as a society are forever imprisoned into what society expects of us, we are afraid to be judged, we are afraid to step out of our comfort zones for we fear what others might think of us, thus we are discriminated, we are silenced and in a way we are fooled.
Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling said “It’s our choices, Harry, that make us what we truly are, far more than our abilities” and I could not agree with him more, our choices could actually define who we are. In this case our choice would actually dictate one’s gender preference. Taking into context Philippine culture with our masochist values, we are actually very critical of a little boy playing with dolls and we actually brand them, more often than not as gay. On the other side of the spectrum a girl who prefers to play with guns and robots are also labeled as “tomboy” or lesbian. What I’m trying to say is that our choices can very well define how others see us but I believe that how we see ourselves is more important. People can call us names and label us but then only one’s self can define who and what we really are.
Going out of the box has its consequences, deviating from the norm would also cause problems, however one must still stay true to who and what they are. Let the children choose what they want, they are children after all. They should enjoy life the way that they want it, not only children for that matter, but each of us must enjoy the life given to us the way we want it to be.
The little girl’s rant on the video clip tells us that we should be given the chance to choose, we are not puppets to be controlled, we are human beings with our own mind, and even children are capable of choosing what is pleasing to them. We cannot just let society dictate who we are, at the end of the day we are our own being.
How we live life is something that we choose, it should not be given to us by anyone, how we think should be uniquely our own. Yes society can influence us, but then even that influence has its limitations, we were given minds to think and be critical and we should exercise our right to choose and be ourselves.
Society has its own idea of what is accepted and what is not, I am not saying that society is all bad, but then we should learn to question the things around us, all of us should be like the little girl in the video who was not afraid to question what was already accepted. We should be open to the idea of change and idea of something being different. We are our own unique persons who are able to think for our good and betterment. The little girl had a point, we should be given the chance to choose for some things really are not given rather they are actually chosen.
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