Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschool (Martin-Response: Emily Hunter)
Martin’s research indicated that the preschool environment is partially responsible for forming gendered bodies. Numerous aspects of preschool including how the children are disciplined, how the children interact with each other, and how clothing restricts children affect how children experience preschool and the types of lessons boys and girls are learning. Overall, I agree with Martin in that the underlying curriculum in preschool teaches and enforces typical gender roles.
Two of the most fascinating topics analyzed by Martin were the observations regarding clothing and voice use in preschool. First examining the topic of clothing, I fully agreed with Martin’s point that tight clothing teaches girls from a young age to be constantly aware of their bodies and that discomfort should be expected in women’s clothing. I still remember being four years old and having my mother force me into tights for church every Sunday. While putting on the tights I would scream loudly with tears streaming down my face as I continually proclaimed that the tights were itchy and hurting my tummy. I recall sitting through church school in constant discomfort as the tights slid down my legs so that I could not walk properly, let alone run outside or play with other children. In addition to the tights, I wore a dress and saddle shoes that prevented me from most physical activities and even restricted how I was able to sit on the floor. While the boys were also somewhat impaired by their dress shoes and dress pants, I believe they were never as restricted or uncomfortable as most of the girls. If girls are taught at such a young age to be constantly aware of their bodies it can create the ground work for negative body images. When constant awareness of the body is combined with the continual emphasis on the ideal image of beauty for women, a situation is created that is detrimental to the development of a girl’s self-confidence.
The use of the female voice is another lesson that young girls learn during preschool. Martin draws attention to the fact that the teachers continually remind the girls that they must use “quiet” voices and must speak “softly” at all times, while the boys are allowed to speak loudly and even scream during play without being asked to change the volume of their voices. There were two situations described that I found problematic. The first was when the teacher asked Hilary to express her love of marshmallows in a quiet manner. Not only was she indicating to Hilary that she should not use her voice to express emotion, but also prevented her from using her body to express how she felt. This not only restricts Hilary’s ability to express herself but also taught her that her body should not be used to explain how she feels and that regardless of how excited, how angry, or how sad she is feeling, the female body is not meant to take up space and be used to express emotions. If a girl learns at a young age that her opinions cannot be fully expressed, she will run the risk of neglecting to speak her opinions later in life.
The second situation that I viewed as problematic was when the teacher disciplined Amy for telling Keith, “Stop it!” in an assertive voice when he was threatening to destroy her block building. By preventing Amy from asserting her rights to protect her building, the teacher was indirectly telling Amy that she should not stand up for herself using her voice. As Martin explains, females already struggle with using voice as a defense against violence, and instilling the idea that using your voice for protection is wrong sets the stage for the development of girls who are afraid to use their voices in any situation. Looking at voice use generally, I have experienced firsthand how difficult it is, at least initially, for grown women to use their voices, especially to scream. The first years I played water polo my coach would continually yell at me for not calling for the ball when open or yelling to a teammate when I was able to see where the ball needed to go. I never understood why I had such a fear of screaming or using my voice in a powerful manner, but now I wonder whether I had learned to not use my voice as a child and actually embodied this gender role without even realizing I had done so. In addition, I have played on a number of male teams and I have noticed that the men on the team are continually taken aback when a female uses her voice to demand the ball or even to indicate what to do. This shows that not only do woman, including myself, embody the gender roles thrust upon them without realizing they have done so, but men also expect to see these gender norms followed. I personally feel that one of the most powerful things a woman can learn to do in her lifetime is to use her voice. While family life has some influence over how children understand gender roles, I wonder whether the preschool environment or the home life would have a greater impact on structuring a child’s understanding of gender. Will it ever be possible to raise a child to feel comfortable exploring gender or will the hidden curriculum of schools continually limit gender exploration in young children?
I agree with Emily's view of Martin's article, that preschool curriculums do teach and enforce society's view of gender roles. I am glad that Emily brought up the marshmallow example from the text, where the teacher disciplined Hilary for her enthusiastic answer to a question. I found it deplorable that a teacher would discipline and quiet a child, not because they are being disruptive or destructive, or because they had the wrong answer, but because they answered a question too correctly. This instance reminds me of a time when I was picking up the four year old that I nanny for from school. Her teacher called me over and informed me in a perturbed manner that Sofia “talks a lot,” I asked if she talked at inappropriate times, or if her talking was disrupting the class. The teacher replied that no, Sofia was not disruptive, simply chatty. I responded that it was not “bad” behaviour for a child to have a lot to say. It is instances such as the marshmallow incident, or Sofia’s teacher that alarm me to the silencing of female voices at a young age, so that by the time a girl grows into a woman, where she needs to have the skills to stick up for herself in society, she no longer knows how to assert her voice. It is equally alarming that the people who have the greatest hand in silencing young girl’s voices are their female teachers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily’s points regarding the restrictive nature of girl’s clothing versus boy’s clothing. As a child my mother did not restrict our clothing choices, this meant that I wore a lot of what was deemed boy’s clothing. This lead to a childhood of gender confusion, despite my name and long hair people would still assume I was boy because of my looser clothing and the lack of dresses in my wardrobe. Young girls are forced to conform to society’s expectations and told from the beginning of their existence that to be a girl you must wear pink and confine yourself in tight restrictive clothing. As a child it never bothered me when I was called a boy but now I see it as an example of how gendered society is. I also found Emily’s point regarding clothing beginning the catalyst to lower self- confidence interesting. Prior to reading this I would never have connected to two but now I see how they are intertwined. If a child is raised to wear what is “pretty” than she will always be striving to fit what is expected and loose sight of personal beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI am equally as flustered by the constraints that the "hidden curriculums" in schools place on children's creative play, thought expression, and self-esteem development. We grow up with the notion that "grown ups are always right" and that we shouldn't dare disobey their authority. When the teacher reprimands Amy for expressing herself too loudly before addressing Keith's lack of respect for Amy's belongings, Amy is subtly being taught by an authority figure that it is not appropriate to express oneself in such a boisterous manner, yet lacks the power to question her teacher as to why Keith did not get scolded first. As little girls develop into women, they may not feel as welcome or as comfortable expressing their opinions in the private or public sphere because of their vocal suppression as a child. This relates to an example discussed in class about salary negotiations. Women must work harder than men to negotiate a fair salary by learning to establish a confident voice and an unwavering opinion that proves difficult to oppose. I also responded to Emily's opinion relating to the emotional repercussions of gendered clothing on women. As Emily points out, "women are taught at such a young age to be constantly aware of their bodies," whether it be through peers who are constantly critical of flaws in one's physical appearance or by a teacher who instructs a girl to cross her legs in public but remains silent when a boy engages in the same open-legged, space-monopolizing position. Girls then learn to be more critical of themselves and assume that physical appearance is of prime importance if they want to be accepted by other members of society. -Alexa Campagna
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