Gender Expectations Essay

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Before a child is even born, they have already been assigned gender roles, or sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as a male or female (Conley 287). For example, at a gender reveal party the soon-to-be mother might open a box and pink confetti may shoot out. What is her baby’s gender solely based on the color of the confetti? Blue wasn’t always identified as a boy color and pink wasn’t always considered feminine. In 1927, Time magazine printed a chart highlighting gender-appropriate colors for girls and boys according to leading U.S. retailers. Filene’s (in Boston), Best & Co. (in New York City), Halle’s (in Cleveland), and Marshall Field (in Chicago) all advised parents to dress boys in pink and girls in blue (Boulton). Obviously things have changed somewhere in between 1927 and today, but gender expectations have remained relevant through those years and are still relevant to this day. Even though media can positively influence the world by putting a spotlight on confident, smart, and empowered women, most media shown today pictures unrealistic expectations for females. …show more content…

Those Maybelline or Victoria’s Secret commercials that so rudely interrupted your favorite TV show as a child have socialized you without you even knowing it. Subconsciously you, as a growing individual, were raised to believe being a beautiful bombshell is more significant than having a college education. Newsom’s film helps us better grasp this situation through quantitative analysis. For instance, the film says, “U.S women spend $12,000 to $15,000 a year on beauty products and salon services… That’s enough to pay for: 5 years at a community college, 2 years at a state university, or 1 year at the University of

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