From a very young age, children are taught typical gender roles through looking at the world around them. Gender roles, which are societal norms which dictate appropriate behavior for a person of a certain sex, are commonly learned through media that children see. A common product that children see advertisements for are Baby Alive dolls. There are many different versions of this doll, but one of the most recent releases is the Baby Alive My Baby All Gone doll. I first saw a commercial for this particular doll around noon on a Saturday on Nickelodeon, which is a time that most children are watching TV. In this particular commercial, a young girl is seen with the Baby Alive doll. The narrator then begins describing how the baby will talk to you when it is hungry. The commercial then shows the young girl preparing a “snack” and feeding her baby. This teaches young girls how they will be in charge of cooking and feeding the baby. The baby can also express when it needs its…show more content… A very controversial theoretical analysis of gender is feminism. People who are “feminists” advocate for equality for men and women. Feminists would argue that gender roles can prohibit children from doing what they want to do. For example, when a young boy is asked what he wants to be when he grows up, an answer like “firefighter” would be expected. However, if the young boy said he wanted to be a father, it could be considered an odd answer. If a young girl responded that she wanted to be a firefighter, it would not be strange if she was told that it was a “boy’s job” or asked who would be taking care of the children. If children are hearing this from a young age, they may become ritualistic and give up on their dreams. This could cause people in society not doing what they want to do, and some people choosing jobs that “fit” their gender, even if they’re not the best at
