Billy The Kid

My nephew, Billy, is a cheery little git of 11 years. About three moths ago we celebrated his birthday, cake and all; with his parents both on a week long vacation, they left me with the responsibility of helping little Billy choose an array of toys that his parents would buy him upon their return. Being upper class, white, well-to-do business owners from Georgia, they really have no qualms with high priced gadgets. They are, however, a little bit worried about exposing Billy to bad influences: guns, violence, nakedness, loud noises, and anything unchristian. This left Billy with few options for his gifts, although he didn't know that yet; he thought he had free range. I set him up in front of the computer and pointed him to Amazon.com, Toys R' Us online, and eventually Google. The following is an account of what transpires.


Billy's Birthday

Even at his young age, Billy is very aware of one thing: his social status. He is defined through kids in elementary school by his family's wealth, his advantages, and what he owns and brings in to school. Never timid, Billy is very willing to shove the newest action figure into his friends' faces while yelling "Neener neener" at inexcusable volumes. For some reason his rapidly degenerating personality does not worry his parents as it does me-- let's recall what Newman has to say about Identities and their significance:

"[Identities] are social locations that determine our position in the world relative to other people. At times, we purposely call attention to them, through how we dress, walk, and use language, whom we choose to associate with, perhaps even where we live." (Newman, P.33)

For children, innocence and ignorance disallow their consciouses to recognize how their toys and actions are affecting their identities. Let me give you an example. Although not his first choice, this action figure was one that Billy picked out.

http://home.nycap.rr.com/lathfam/
Here we have what some would consider an honorable soldier, and others would consider a racist symbol. "Not surprisingly, although symbols can evoke feelings of solidarity and unity, they can also be used to separate, intimidate, and evoke hostility." (Newman, p.74) Billy, of course, knew only about what his father had told him of the bravery of Robert E. Lee and his troops-- not that the confederate army was fighting to retain their right to maintain the tradition of slavery.

If Billy were to grow up idolizing his Confederate action hero, he may come to believe that what they stood for might not be so bad. What I mean to get at is this: Young children are unable to reject certain influences that could affect their identities for the worst, and as such, toys are a powerful (and often negative) influence on their young minds.

This malleability of young minds is much more liable to have permanent influences on the way children consider race and gender as well. One of Billy's favorite action figures is of course Spiderman
http://www.amazon.com/
One of the greatest Villains in the Spiderman series, I must add, is Venom. Naturally, Billy wanted both action figures so that he could make them fight each other.

http://www.amazon.com/

As is consistently the theme in Comic Books and movies, the supervillains are all black or dark in some way. You'll notice that "good guys in old western movies wore white hats, and the bad guys wore black hats. White lies are small, insignificant, and harmless. But black magic is dark and ominous." (Newman, p.79) The danger here, of course, is that Billy will apply this same principle when considering the goodness of races other than his own. After consistently having evil associated with dark in his immature little head, he may eventually come to apply that same rule in his everyday life. We see now that the development of a child's identity starts early, and can easily be defined by his influences in everyday life, notably through the TV he watches and toys he plays with. While race is certainly a theme in many toys and shows, Billy is also beginning to define himself as a boy, which naturally has led him to a rejection of girls and all of their habits. He is very aware that he is not to play with this, or he would hear unending criticism from his peers:
http://www.amazon.com/

Although he is unwilling to take part in female activities, however, he still notices what they are doing-- Billy begins to understand the role that ideal women should be playing, and apparently, it involves wearing little clothing while being attractive. He has no knowledge or desire to change or reject this view; as a child, he is simply presented with it. "If a society is oppressive, then people who grow up and live in it will tend to accept, identify with, and participate in it as "normal" and unremarkable life. That's the path of least resistance in any system." (Johnson, p.93)

So, back to the issue of Billy's gifts. I didn't want him to get the confederate soldier; it may offend teachers at his school, or even other students. More importantly, it might leave a lasting impression on the little tyke. I didn't want to get Spiderman & Venom, as the constant portrayal of all black things as evil might tilt him towards racism. I wouldn't get him a Barbie doll, of course, because he would be ridiculed and come to believe that all women are to look and act like a large-chested plastic doll.

All of my reasoning, as you can see, is based off of one fact: That Billy is unable to realize the significance these toys could have in developing his later identity. So I took one tiny bit of Johnson's advice: "We have some freedom to break the rules and construct everyday life in different ways, which means that the paths we choose to follow can do as much to change patriarchy as they can to perpetuate it." (Johnson, p.98)

Rather than recommend he ask his parents for any of the toys that could cause potential psychological harm, I told him that by far the coolest thing he could do is ask for a guitar, and go learn to play it.
http://customersrock.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/rock-crowd.jpg


Works Cited:

1.) David M. Newman, Manufacturing Difference: The Social Construction of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality McGraw-Hill Companies Oct. 2005


2.)Allan G. Johnson -- The Gender Knot Temple University Press (April 30, 1997)
Patriarchy, The System