"Why Boys Don't PLay with Dolls"

The passage "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" by Katha Pollit is mainly about society and stereotypes. Many of the issues presented in this passage relate to the various topics we have been discussing in class. People aren't just born with the connection to a certain color or even to a certain toy, it's something that we are taught by our parents and even by society. " We don't have a choice, really, about whether we should give our children messages about what it means to be male and female- they're bombarded with them from morning till night," that quotes best describes the point I was trying to make, that what we watch on television and what our parents shows us, is naturally what we are going to grow up doing. A baby girl from the time of her birth is dressed in pink, a color worldly related to with femininity and the same goes for boys with the masculine color of blue. Another important point made by Katha Pollit is that girls and boys play with completely different toys. Girls are generally seen playing with dolls and cooking sets while boys on the other hand have a toy car or even a football to play with. I also believe that society is changing somewhat. In our day and age females are now playing sports that where once seen strictly for men. The same goes for males, men are now getting more involved in activities usually seen only being done by women such as; cooking and cleaning.

This passage relates to Ramamurthy in the fact that what we see in advertisements and in commercials is what we strive to be as people. A good example that was mentioned by Katha Pollit is the Famous Barbie doll. Girls from the very young age of three years old are given the ever so popular Barbie doll to play with. Parents may not be trying to directly send their children the message Barbie carries with her, but along with Barbie comes the aspiration to one day look just like her. Women in our society desire so badly to look like the stereotypical "American ideal," in doing so you have to be beautiful, lean, and fashionable.