What are little boys made of?
"Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"


19th century nursery rhyme




Snips and snails and puppy dogs tails... It's always seemed to me that boys were getting the raw end of the deal in this poem. But this blog isn't about what I think... It's what you think that I'm interested in. I have a series of projects I want to share with you to challenge your ideas about gender and maybe give you some food for thought... Give me your feedback, let me know what you're thinking!


Counter-Stereotypes Campaign

      Girls love to shop, guys never cry, women are compassionate and caring by nature, men are good at DIY...
      Society tries to keep us in check with our ascribed gender roles by perpetuating these stereotypes and if you don't fit, you're the one at fault, the odd one out... We're taught this from the time we're born and the stereotypes keep getting reinforced as we grow up by the environment we soak in. Have any of these stereotypes got any true basis in facts, any scientific data to back them up?                                     
      If you read Cordelia Fine's book Delusions of Gender, you will be relieved to hear that stereotypical behaviour is born out of nurture and society's expectations rather than nature. If we want a chance at a different society then, one where women and men can behave as they see fit, we need to start altering the balance of information, which is why I've started making these counter-stereotype posters, available for anyone to post or distribute, so we can start getting an alternative message out there and start offering people a choice in what they'd like to believe.



If you like these posters, I'd like to invite to contribute your own counter-stereotypes and i would be happy to design or help you design your very own counter-stereotype posters.

2 comments:

  1. charles darwin23 March 2011 at 10:20

    Today I saw the poster showing the quote about medical students. I'm a male nurse fyi, if you insist on using these quotes from studies and statistics then I suggest you provide your sources otherwise it comes off like some bad advertising for a shampoo eg studies show it will make your hair 30% shinier.

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  2. Equality 2.012 April 2011 at 15:28

    Hi Darwin, thanks for your comment. As you have rightly spotted, the statistcs on those posters are fictitious. They're not meant to represent reality, but rather a alternative reality as may be experienced by some people. I guess I'm trying to ask the question, what would the world be like if men felt it was ok to cry at the end of every romantic comedy or if women felt that being a woman didn't mean that couldn't be good at spatial awareness. I'm also playing on the fact that a lot of people automatically take statistics at face value without questionning if they have any data to back them up.

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