Feminism & Gender Theory
'No boys allowed:' Legos for girls
In her book, As Long As It is Pink, author Penny Sparke notes the great 'distaste' she felt when wrapping up some glass ornaments she had bought for her mother. She knew her mother would delight in such items, but for her, these glass, ultra-feminine delicate 'dust collectors' signified being held hostage to both class and gender. Even the Victorian middle class ideal of domesticity, which the statues mimicked, was considered somewhat valuable for the refuge it offered from the public world of work. In mass-produced America, now everyone could buy glass ornaments and thus they had been devalued as a marker of class. In cheapening this representation of the home, the role of women as decorators and homemakers has likewise been cheapened, suggests Sparke (Sparke 1996: 3-4). In 21st century America, we are likewise in the uncomfortable position of attempting to answer the question as to whether femininity is valuable for members of the upper class to aspire to, including girls. This discomfort is manifested in the existence of a new line of Lego toys for children, explicitly marketed to girls. The design of the Legos cultural artifact both seeks to subvert feminine stereotypes which value women solely based upon their appearance, yet also simultaneously affirms the cult of pink spoken of in Sparke's work.
Legos have traditionally been marketed to boys, and have something of a cult following. Rather than merely being regarded as derivative toys, they are often praised for their ability to inspire creativity in children and are said to encourage children to enjoy building and understanding spatial relationships....
Feminism is defined as movements that are aimed to protect rights of the women al around the world. These rights include voting rights, political, economic as well as social rights. The second main aim of the feminist movement is to make sure that women get equal education as well as employment rights. Those who believe in feminism are termed as feminists. Feminist theory One of the most important theories in feminism is
Gender and Identity Perhaps the most important question facing any human, be they male or female, is that of the discovery of their own identity. The majority of child development theories, from Freud onward, have dealt with the way in which children must learn to disengage their own identity from that of their parents (mothers in particular) and discover who they are as adults. Yet this process is far from over
Gender and Sexuality Define sex. The term sex means those characteristics, biological as well as physiological, that define men and women. Sex is better defined by categorizing sexes such as make and females. Major characteristic of sex is that its aspects do not considerably change within different societies. To further explain, specific sex related examples are that women menstruate and have breasts developed capable of lactation. Such characteristics are absent in male
Feminism Is for Everybody Describe each of the following theoretical perspectives of women's subordination in society. Discuss which aspect of woman's subordination each focuses on. Biological determinism or essentialism holds that there is a natural and genetic difference between men and women and from a patriarchal viewpoint finds that women are intellectually and physically inferior and should be relegated to child rearing and domestic duties. Liberal feminism, often called middle class feminism
For there to be an a priori sexual origin, people would be born with a sexual orientation and culture would have no impact in shaping people's sexual identity. To this end, a gay male in the 19th century would be exactly the same as a gay male in the 21st century, and this cannot be the case. The struggles faced by a gay male hundreds of years ago are
Gender and Sex: Blurred Lines or Clear Boundaries? One of the hottest songs of summer 2013 was a song by Robin Thicke called "Blurred Lines." The song gained popularity because of its catchy tune, and many people who found themselves dancing along to the song found themselves surprised by the lyrics when they actually listened to the song. In fact, the lyrics to the song were sufficiently suggestive that discussions about
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