Gender Identity Exploration

      I came across this video on Tumblr of which through both the lyrics and the video itself portrays the issues of Gender roles and identity, highlighting the past and current struggles of individuals in society, many of whom may be trans, agender, gender fluid or non-binary. Gender roles are a social construct involving a set of social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. The perception of gender roles includes attitudes, actions, and personality traits associated with a particular gender within that culture.





        From the beginning, the video addresses certain gender stereotypes, such as blue being a colour for boys and pink being a colour for girls. This is a common stereotype of which people assume defines its users, for example most toys of which are geared towards female children are pink or other similar colours, with even the packaging following a similar trend. This is also true for those toys aimed at male children of which tend to be in darker, harsher colours. The same can be said for clothing and even food packaging, in which different editions have been released as to appeal to the different genders.

      Similarly as explored in this video, the idea of certain material things or interests are only acceptable for one gender to partake in. For example, the props in the shots of the group of boys are mostly to do with sports or trucks, and it is only when the boy goes for the pink doll that the other boys turn on him. This is mirrored in the lyrics 'Hush boy,..don't say a word, throw on a jersey and no one gets hurt' of which clearly refers to how most boys are assumed to be sporty and athletic; and suggests that instead of doing what he wants, and speaking for himself, the boy should repress this and start doing what all the other boys seem to do. This is paralleled with the group of girls who are surrounded by objects of which connote a sense of vanity and lack of intelligence, and similar to the boy, the girl is turned on by the others in the group when she decides to look in the book rather than following the other girls actions. As reinforced by the lyrics 'Hush girl...just bat your eyes. Play our little game...', it refers to how some girls are seen as dim and lacking intelligence; only being concerned with their looks, and that its strange for pretty girls to be both curious and intelligent. This is highlighting how society wants both boys and girls to simply play into these gender assigned roles, and those who dare defy this are singled out and cast aside.

         The line '...you're raising suicidals...' is in reference to the recent proliferation of  exposure in cases of trans kids committing suicide due to not being accepted by those surrounding them, including their own families, or due feeling like they don't fit in or don't know what they identify as. One of the most recent cases is Leelah Alcorn who was a 17 year old American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention. Alcorn had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog, writing about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. Around a similar time, the suicide of 15 year old transgender boy named Zander was also brought to light. This highlights the issues and potential dangers of society trying to force archaic gender roles and outdated, hegemonic values/ideals onto individuals.