Stereotype Frustration

Yesterday when I was on my way to the dressing room in Target, I noticed a bunch of shirts displayed straight ahead, along the back wall of the men’s section. They were those solid-color t-shirts that have a saying written on them that is usually supposed to be funny. I stopped to read the shirts and was very frustrated by what I saw. The one that struck me the most was a bright green shirt that had a pair of stick people holding hands. You could tell by looking at the stick figures that they were supposed to be a bride and a groom. Underneath the picture, it said “Game Over.” I stood there feeling a little bit shocked for a moment, and I explained to my mom and my older sister the problem that I was having with the shirt.

I do not have any dreams or aspirations to get married because there are many aspects of marriage that I don’t agree with, so that was not the cause of my frustration. I felt that the shirt had the potential to perpetuate many of the gender stereotypes that surround us today, and that something like this could contribute to how males and females are socialized. This shirt, along with other equally terrible shirts, were hanging on the wall for the world to see, including little boys and girls who are still trying to figure out where their places are in our society. It shows them that this is how men view relationships and that their life is basically over when they get married or enter a commitment. It almost makes it seem acceptable to society because the message is printed on a t-shirt for a grown man.

This class has already changed the way that I view the world. I can’t go anywhere without noticing things like t-shirts and connecting them to the way that our society views masculinity, femininity, and gender. I feel much more aware of why things are the way that they are in our society.