Every Halloween, millions of children in the United States pour into the streets of nearby neighborhoods costumed as superheroes, villains, monsters, murderers, fairies, princesses, soldiers, and the walking dead. Their motives are clear enough: locate neighborhoods with houses that give out the best candy, in hopes of returning home with a hefty bag of sugary loot that will pay the “parent tax” and satisfy their candy needs for weeks if not months to come.
A fascinating article! Having just wrapped up Halloween here, I can't help but to reflect upon the many, many costumes I saw tonight: every single one went straight down the gender divide (except, perhaps, for the (very) little girl who's Superman costume was obviously a hand-me-down from her older brother who was dressed as The Hulk). Gender, clothing and costumes, etc. expectations have been something my wife and I have been dealing with for years ... not from the kids - they'll wear pretty much anything regardless of colour, theme, variety - but from what older relatives think ....
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I agree that many of the pressures do come from adults, coaxing children this way and that way. And of course children are also responsive to peers who are, in turn, conditioned at least in part by familiar expectation and the representation of gender in mass media.
A fascinating article! Having just wrapped up Halloween here, I can't help but to reflect upon the many, many costumes I saw tonight: every single one went straight down the gender divide (except, perhaps, for the (very) little girl who's Superman costume was obviously a hand-me-down from her older brother who was dressed as The Hulk). Gender, clothing and costumes, etc. expectations have been something my wife and I have been dealing with for years ... not from the kids - they'll wear pretty much anything regardless of colour, theme, variety - but from what older relatives think ....
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I agree that many of the pressures do come from adults, coaxing children this way and that way. And of course children are also responsive to peers who are, in turn, conditioned at least in part by familiar expectation and the representation of gender in mass media.