Essay On Mask Duality
This issue of mask duality is played out largely for many children; those who have gendered interests contrary to the prevailing gender norm also engage in mask wearing. One author writes of her brother’s experience with playing with dolls: “When my brother stepped out of the house with his new My Buddy, kids laughed. They called him a sissy. No one understood why a little boy wanted to play with a doll, regardless of the fact that it was a boy doll” (Callahan). Here, Callahan’s younger brother unfortunately could not wear the same mask he wears at home out in public for fear of ridicule. Doniger concludes her influential essay on identity by saying, “We need our masks” (71). The masks act like armor used to protect oneself from the outside
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Specifically, for women interested in traditionally “masculine” areas such as science, math, and technology, the issue of mask duality arises and creates a dissonance that continues to affect their development throughout their lives. Becky Francis, a professor of education and social justice, examines social identities in educational contexts. In her research article “Gender, Toys and Learning,” she looks at the effect gendered toy preferences have on the education children receive from said toys, as well as the overall social roles they promote. She writes that “data… shows how children may be acutely aware of the constraints of gender production in self-regulating their own behaviour, and of the consequences of failure to conform” (340). The gender roles society imposes on us are ever-present in shaping our identity. As shown through my desire to conform to my parents’ expectations in the toy store, I began to regulate my own behavior to fit the expectations society has placed on me. And much like the men in Edwards and Jones study, they put their relationships at risk in order to feel accepted within society. Furthermore, Francis deduced in her paper that, “boys and girls are being inculcated to different gendered worlds due to their distinctive gendered consumption of toys and leisure resources” (340). These gendered worlds that children are forced into entering set children up to have a
Specifically, for women interested in traditionally “masculine” areas such as science, math, and technology, the issue of mask duality arises and creates a dissonance that continues to affect their development throughout their lives. Becky Francis, a professor of education and social justice, examines social identities in educational contexts. In her research article “Gender, Toys and Learning,” she looks at the effect gendered toy preferences have on the education children receive from said toys, as well as the overall social roles they promote. She writes that “data… shows how children may be acutely aware of the constraints of gender production in self-regulating their own behaviour, and of the consequences of failure to conform” (340). The gender roles society imposes on us are ever-present in shaping our identity. As shown through my desire to conform to my parents’ expectations in the toy store, I began to regulate my own behavior to fit the expectations society has placed on me. And much like the men in Edwards and Jones study, they put their relationships at risk in order to feel accepted within society. Furthermore, Francis deduced in her paper that, “boys and girls are being inculcated to different gendered worlds due to their distinctive gendered consumption of toys and leisure resources” (340). These gendered worlds that children are forced into entering set children up to have a