In this group blog about women and
the media, “Make-up and Hot Pink Toenails – Not Just a Girl Thing”, Melanie
Klein addresses the issue of stereotypical femininity and, more specifically, masculinity.
In mainstream pop culture, an intense amount of pressure is placed on girls; however
it sometimes goes unnoticed that boys have many pressures of their own. There
is an expectation to look, dress, act a certain way, as well as have a specific
category of interests. Sadly, any further curiosity into what might be
considered to be “feminine” interests is resulted in extreme judgment – and,
sometimes, further more degrading punishment. Klein gives the examples that “a
17-month-old boy is beaten to death for being too “girly,” a 5-year-old is
accused of being gay for choosing to dress up like Daphne from Scooby-Doo for
Halloween, a boy who likes pink dresses causes headline news, and a high-school
football player is kicked off the field for wearing pink cleats during Breast
Cancer Awareness Month”.
To realize what a major issue this
still is in today’s society is beyond baffling. The acceptance to be able to
explore one’s interests regardless of gender is a right that we all have and
therefore should be able to practice freely. It is how we find out who we are truly
meant to be as people, and that range should not be limited in any way. The
media and the advertisers of today need to expand this range so that both girls
and boys know that they can do and be anything they want - without ridicule. Ridding
the framing of today’s norms used by current advertising that shows boys
wearing blue and girls wearing pink, and instead make a point to show that it
is normal for boys wear pink too, will be a major step towards ridding these gender
stereotypes for good.
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