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Scavenger Hunt Paper

Our gender roles are shaped in such a variety of ways that it is nearly impossible to keep track of them all. Everything from the television shows we watch on a regular basis to the nursery rhymes children learn in school are good examples. Sometimes the people who create these mediums of expression should apply discretion when deciding what kind of message they decide to include in them because sometimes it can become permanently embedded in our culture. That is why, in order to become a progressive society we must bring about change to these damaging gender stereotypes to make our world more egalitarian.
Surprisingly enough, our gender roles can start to take shape as early as elementary school. Nursery rhymes have always been the most common tools teachers’ utilize to teach young children how to read and write the English language because of their catchy song like tone. The words of the nursery rhymes may seem harmless on the surface but deeper analysis reveals some subtle message about gender roles. Take for example the Mother Goose rhyme Humpty Dumpty where the titular character Humpty Dumpty has a great fall but “All of the King’s horses and all the King’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again.” Notice how the rhyme presumes all hope is lost in restoring Humpty Dumpty and yet no one seeks the aid of the female. Could it be because women’s skill in egg reconstruction pales in comparison to those of males back in the time it was written? I doubt it. The point of the matter is that nursery rhymes and other educational tools of the sort should inform children about the ideas of equality and togetherness not to instruct them what certain genders can do and others can not. As far back as I can remember back to my elementary days, I never questioned the meanings of the nursery rhymes I just went along with them because they sounded so catchy as I already mentioned. Now with some perspective I can now safely say that...