For 30 minutes, observe a public place where items or services for children are sold. During your observation, jot down brief notes to help you write your paper later. Consider the following:
• The setting: the look and feel of the space you are in
• The people: approximate number of people and their approximate/guessed ages, social classes, professions, races, ethnicities, genders, appearances, and any other relevant identities or roles
• The interactions: Who is interacting, how they interact (physical, speech, etc.), and your involvement
Step 2: Answer these questions in your paper in paragraph form
- Describe your observation experience. What place did you choose? Include details about the setting, the people, and the interactions. What jumped out at you, seemed important, or was especially interesting?
(50 points) - What was the role of gender in the place you observed? What messages were being sent to children about gender? Use specific examples from your observation to support your response.
(100 points) - Explain the connection between what you observed and at least two of the following concepts we have studied:
Sex (female, male, intersex)
Feminism
Privilege and oppression
Gender expression (masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and gender nonconformity)
Gender identity (man, woman, boy, girl, gender nonbinary, transgender, cisgender, etc.)
The social construction of gender
Gender socialization
Sample Solution