Analysis of Why Boys Don't Play With Dolls
Katha Pollitt in her article entitled, "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" illuminates a very powerful social movement in history that has succeeded in many institutions. This was the Feminist Movement that spawned reform in politics, the workplace, but has failed in the most important institution in American society, the family. Since the family is where children are initially socialized into the people that they will become, if the family fails to adhere to gender neutrality than the whole Feminist ideal has failed. It can be said the movement did cause a change in behaviors, where women were afforded equal rights under the law, the right to chose in in Roe vs. Wade, among other advances, but a change in attitude has not been seen in the family. Even when parents know that it is wrong to assume that their children will assume roles, defined by strict lines, they continue to push boys and girls in different directions. In
Without a change in attitude, this trend will continue, as the parents of today were the first recipients of equal rights and have not changed, because of it. Even if mothers and fathers hope that their daughters will grow up to shatter the glass ceiling in a male-dominated career or their son will be a wonderful father, who will help change diapers and clean house, they would be in a group of nonconformists if they taught this to their children, through play. Many parents do not go out and buy dolls for their sons, so they can practice parenting, as girls do, just as they wouldn't buy trucks and building blocks for their daughters. If the parent expects their child to grow up in a gender neutral and free society, they are not allowing their children to see it. Instead parents are afraid to step out of those gender lines and social lines to allow their children to play with whatever toy they chose and to become any person t
Some topics in this essay:
Feminist Movement,
Play Dolls,
Katha Pollitt,
feminist movement,
movement failed,
boys girls,
equal rights,
feminist movement failed,
children play,
gender roles,
gender neutrality,
change attitude,
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Approximate Word count = 627
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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