This photo project is for me, a ‘rage’ project criticizing the gendered norms about toys that kids should play with. I find it ridiculous that the sex of a child should determine their toys. Like, will a female child suddenly grow a penis for playing with cars? Will a male child become a girl for playing with dolls?
As a queer trans person, I have had my share of questioning gender and gender norms from when I was a child. I liked dolls as much as I liked (and made my own) toy cars and paper planes. Gendering toys is reductive of the wholesome childhood experience that every child should experience.
In this series, I mock the statement that I was constantly told ‘You’re a girl, you should play with dolls.’ The photos show me ‘playing’ with a doll’s head, in the most unconventional ways. For me, this is about giving the middle finger to gender norms that should not exist in the first place. We are in 2022 for fucks sake!
But this is not only about dolls. It is for us to question outrageous and ridiculous gender norms that keep us from progressing and achieving equality. Fighting for equality and representation for women and queer people should not just be something done when we are old. It starts with the conditioning from childhood. You cannot tell a small girl to only play with dolls and then turn around and tell her she is equal to boys when she is older. Gender conditioning starts from the moment we are born, and that is where we should begin the changes.