Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 83

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roore, as will be discussed, not all children
conform to stereotypical ideas of gender
roles. However, it was clear from the data
that consumer goods were important re-
sources in the construction and communi-
cation of gender identity.
At the nursery children displayed strong
Views with regard to gender and toys. The
children had clear ideas which toys were for
§iris and which were for boys. For instance
they were clear which gender, toys such as
riarbie, Action Man, Power Rangers and
dolls were aimed at. Statements such as “All
girls like Barbies ” or “Barbies are just for
girls” were common. Here the expressions
are of girls as a group defined in relation to
the other i.e. boys. These were stereotypi-
cal ideas of gender appropriate consump-
t'on; however, it was evident that some chil-
itren less reađily adhered to conventional
gender behaviour. Girls were more likely to
step outside traditional gender boundaries.
hor instance Maria (pre-school) liked play-
Ulg with Spiderman dolls - especially
changing Spiderman’s clothes. Evidently, al-
though considered a boy’s toy, the Spider-
inan was adapted to fit in with Maria’s idea
playing with dolls i.e. changing the
clothes (Ficldnotes, SN, pre-school,
22/5/02).
Despite less evidence of boys trans-
gressing gender boundaries, one boy in par-
t'cular at the nursery, Mark, loved dressing
UP? playing in the home corner (where boys
hardly ever played) and taking on female
'°les such as being a princess or “super-girl
hero” (as Mark himself described it). This
met with some resistance among the chil-
then, both girls and boys, who reminded him
that (as they said) boys, do not wear dresses
(Fieldnotes, SN, pre-school, 24/6/02). Ver-
bally, staff at the nursery were not found to
reinforce gendered consumption behaviour.
However, the layout of toys and play areas
at the nursery, in many ways promoted
stereotypical gender behaviour. For instance
the home comer or hair dressing area was
closed off and not integrated with any other
play activity.
One striking feature was the intense re-
vulsion many boys in the younger age
groups, i.e. nursery and particularly P2/P3,
displayed towards what they perceivcd to be
feminine consumer goods. They tried to dis-
tance themselves from everything they con-
sidered “girly”. When asked what pro-
grammes he liked Peter listed a few and then
said:
Peter: Everything except (mentions the name of
a programme).
Interviewer: What was that?
Peter: It’s a girlie programme.
Interviewer: Why do you not like it?
Peter: Cause it’s a girly thing. It’s got big hearts
on it.
Tommy: Barbie’s and dolls is the most thing I
hate. If I got one for Christmas I would saw the
head off.
Interview, NPS, P3, Male, 18/12/02
This disgust with “girly” consumer goods
was mirrored at WPS where the boys also
spoke of destroying Barbie dolls. Therefore,
it is clear that the need for these boys to dis-
tance themselves from items perceived to be
overly feminine is expressed in their dislike
for consumer objects associated with girls.
Nevertheless the degree of accepted behav-
iour changed with people and context. One