An Old Paper I Discovered

I was cleaning the other day-

wait, let me rephrase that.

I was attempting to de-clutter the other day (there, that's a bit more accurate).
I decided to tackle some of my old manuscripts that I had stashed away from high school and college, hoping to purge the contents of my file box to make room for more "important" papers.

What I discovered, other than an unwillingness to throw away my work, was an essay that I had written during the summer of 2008, in English 102. 

If memory serves me correctly, the assignment was to pick one poem from several we have been given in a hand out (of course, the hand out is missing) and to write an essay on it discussing how gender roles are depicted in the poem. I found not one, but TWO essays: the second had written, in big, capital green letters 

DO NOT GRADE!

The professor had not graded it, although he had made comments in the margins, proving that he had, in fact, taken the time to read it.

What impressed me about this essay (which is probably not impressive at all to others) is my grasp of sexism. I had never taken a course in gender studies, had rarely discussed this in classes, and at that point had a rather narrow and traditional understanding of gender.

Since I haven't written anything on here for a while, let me indulge myself by sharing with you what the 21 year old version of myself had to say about the poem: What Little Boys Are Made Of

Bed time stories, nursery rhymes and even hymns have been used throughout history to indoctrinate members of society. these pieces of work are often directed at children, who are in the early stages of development and therefore more easily "trainable." The characteristics that these poems suggest children display are blatantly stereotypical by today's standards. While the same nursery rhymes are used today, the audience and the expectations of children's behavior have changed considerably in some reagards, while in others they have remained drastically similar.

The nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of appears to ask very innocent questions. What are little boys, and girls, made of? How are children supposed to act according to their gender? Boys are apparently made of "snips and snails and puppy-dog tails." When this nursery rhyme was originally written, it undoubtedly described an average boy. Boys would have spent a good amount of time outside; helping their father with chores, working the fields, and exploring their surroundings. It was a way, perhaps the way, of life. Boys were raised to be diligent workers; once they grew older and had a family of their own their life depended on their ability to work. The stanza about young men, however, paints a different picture. Instead of a strong laborer, the poem describes hopeless romantics. The young men are filled with "sighs and leers and crocodile tears." These men appear to have their heads in the clouds, potentially dreaming about anything from a political revolution to the young lady down the street. The second mention of an animal is very interesting. In the first stanza boys are paired with puppies; fun-loving, innocent creatures. In the second stanza, however, the young man is paired with a crocodile, a dangerous, violent beast that is untrustworthy. An interesting depiction of what society believes a boy should grow up to be. While it would be possible for the boy in the first stanza to turn into the man of the second, there is also the possibility that each stanza describes not only differing age groups but also class distinctions. The second stanza describes far more accurately how one might perceive a young man in the aristocracy than a young laborer.

While the men tended the fields or the shop, women stayed at home, taking care of the house, preparing meals, and tending children. The verse about little girls is clearly indoctrinating, in that it says girls are made of "sugar and spice and all things nice." Sugar and spices were kept in the kitchen. It can be assumed that, like these food products, women are also to be kept in the kitchen. However, while the verse on little boys is very clear cut, the verse on girls can be delved into a bit more deeply. Sugar, especially white sugar, was hard to come by hundreds of years ago. It was very expensive, and therefore purchased only by the wealthy or for very special occasions. Many spices were also expensive, due to the fact that they were imported from then exotic lands. What can this say about women? That in order to have the "sugar and spice" one must have money. And, as in all material possessions, the nicer it is, the more money it costs. The nicer the girl, the richer the man must be. The link between women and material objects is made again in the verse about young women, which states that they are made of "ribbons and laces and sweet pretty faces." Again, ribbons and lace were a novelty, not a necessity. However sweet the face, she and society demand that it be adorned with decorations. While "sweet" can clearly be an obvious statement about a woman's physical features, it is interesting how it relates back to the first verse, where girls are made of sugar and spice. If variety be the spice of life, what does this say about young women, who are supposedly a mixture of sugar and spice? Perhaps it hints that underneath a sweet, sugary exterior lies a zest, sourness, or even bitterness, as spices tend to add to food. While there is a small hint as to a girl's emotional character, much more attention is given to the physical and material aspects of woman.

Considering that this nursery rhyme was written well over a century ago, one might argue that it has no validity in today's society. Boys no longer romp outdoors, exploring the mysteries nature provides in the form of bugs and animals. Instead they sit inside, playing video games and watching televisions, their minds being filled with notions of war, crime, and sex. Meanwhile, a girls place is no longer in the kitchen. She is encouraged to participate in previously male-dominated activities, while also trying to assert her femininity by making herself as sexy as possible. Young girls paint their faces with makeup and bare their chests in the hopes of attracting a young (or older) man's eye. The young men of today are not much different than those portrayed in the nursery rhyme; they are unrealistic dreamers, only instead of dreaming of a revolution, they dream of being rock stars. Instead of the young lady down the street, they fantasize about Playboy bunnies. Just as in the poem, young men of today  know how to get what they want, be it through tears, arguments, or violence. Despite the steps made towards gender equality, there are obvious stereotypes that have failed to be destroyed through the years.

While the nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of still exists in current children's books, it and other nursery rhymes like it are far from being the culprits of the indoctrination experienced by today's young boys and girls. They have been replaced by magazines, movies, and television shows the depict how Hollywood and the larger media feels men and women should dress, act, and treat others. Nursery rhymes have become nothing more than nostalgic remnants of the past. "What are little boys made of? Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails." And little girls? "Sugar and spice, and all things nice."

How nice.