Why Bo Don`t Play With Dolls

An essay on

Why boys do not play with

Dolls

Introduction

Gender roles in the society have been dictated by several external factors that eventually brand these roles as stereotypes and that a deviation from these social conventions amounts to being labeled by various forms of a social outcast . The fact that the male and female distinction has been primarily defined by biological factors is one essential basis for a huge difference between the two genders . From these biological distinctions , consequent social distinctions arise

Differences in genders roles are

so often dictated by the society through social norms and socially accepted facts that these roles eventually acquire a position in the society as a standard upon which all the rest of the behaviors of individuals are to be based . Through the course of the development of the society , factors such as religious orientation , political and cultural backgrounds have contributed to the further centralizing of the accepted norms . These , in effect , have resulted to sharp distinctions between the male and female genders that have paved the way for a social basis in condemning acts that tend to deviate from the social mainstream

Dolls and femininity

Dolls , or replicas of the female gender that oftentimes explicitly highlight the female gender in an all-too perfect image , have been socially construed as toy for little girls . The reason behind this is that these dolls replicate the idea of beauty , specifically that of the female beauty , and suggest a pattern in which females ought to be like As this pattern becomes more and more employed in the behavior of little girls through time , stereotypes become more and more accepted in the eyes of the society . It becomes a standard in classifying and assessing how female ' a female person acts . The stereotype eventually obtains a status in the society of high reputation that any new form of suggested feminine pattern are thrown into the sides and are either rejected or condemned

On the other hand , little boys have been imprinted with the idea through time that they ought to be acquainted with the more masculine objects or those that do not portray a feminine touch at the least . This pattern is founded on the idea that the growing-up stages of children are the most fragile years in one 's life . These budding years bear great responsibility in shaping the most likely behavior of the child in the future . Hence , stereotypes of genders are given primary significance in these stages in to guide ' the path of the child in the growing-up process in line with the socially accepted norms

Social norms

It has been a common ploy to relate the socially construed gender patterns with the biological make-up of males and females . For the most part , dolls have been closely associated with the female gender because the anatomy of the females has been classified by the society as an epitome of beauty . History provides us that early cultures have already practiced this approach such as those of the early Greek civilization that gave great reverence to Aphrodite , the female goddess of love and beauty

The reason why boys do not play with dolls rests on the accepted social norms apart from the fact that child rearing is a central concern for parenthood . For instance , as parents take a central position in the rearing of little boys , they adopt the social norms in their firm belief that socially accepted standards define the essence of being a male in this case

Since dolls are closely associated to the feminine side of personhood it is likely that parents will inculcate this norm to their children Out of fear of seeing their children as social outcasts from deviating from the stream of social of norms or perhaps out of sheer abidance to the dictates of the society or for any other reason , parents seek to install into the minds of their little boys all the norms that reflect the male gender

Growing up with the thought of dolls as properly exclusive to the female gender , boys eventually reach maturity with the thought of this norm still firmly planted unto their minds . Eventually , the process is repeated for generations and generations until the norm is further reinforced as it occupies an authoritative position in the structure of the society . However , it does not guarantee that deviation from these norms will never occur in a society strongly to the very definitions of gender roles it has created for itself

Deviating from the norms

Cases of deviation from these gender-related behaviors have actually been taking place in the various parts of the world . In fact , instances where little boys actually play with dolls throughout their budding years . Nevertheless , one major consequence to this is a form of a treatment synonymous to an outcast in the society . Boys seen playing with dolls , in several parts of the world especially among conservative countries have been branded as having an inclination towards homosexuality . In the end , as homosexuality is barraged with despise the very causes of homosexuality acquires a repulsive image as well

Insights

Socially construed gender roles and the relevant issues rooted to it have been the stereotypes in determining the perception of maleness or femaleness of an individual . Dolls have been compacted into the female side and , thus , create not only a negative impression for boys who play with dolls but also relegate a prerogative for the parents to rear their children according to the social norms . Essentially , boys do not play with dolls because it is what the society instructs and it is what the society confines into a degree of isolation . It is against the dictates of the society

Reference

Stubbs , Marcia , Sylvan Barnet , and William E . Cain . The Little Brown Reader . 10th ed : Longman , 2005

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