Play is a key element to the social/physical growth and development in young children's lives. On October 13, 2011 I was given the opportunity to observe 3 children at play, and in my observations I noted several interesting trends, moments, and processes identified within common male/female gender ideologies and interactions. It is during play that children begin to understand, experiment with, and push the boundaries of their self-awareness as male or female.
             My nephew, 4-year old Benjamin, was scheduled for a play-date with his two friends: 6-year old Greg and his little sister, 4-year old Sara. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon, and Benjamin, with his neighborhood friends, was standing on the porch with their mothers. Very quickly, when the children began to play, Ben firmly established a male-female boundary. He picked up 2 large, brown and black, cowboy-esque toy guns and handed one to Greg. He grabbed a very small (in comparison to the boy's guns), light-blue, plastic squirt gun for Sara and said, "You can have this one Sara. It's for girls." He has made obvious his belief in the ideology of weaponry as distinctly male and therefore gave a "girl gun" to Sara. At a young age, Ben has already understood the conventional ideal of safety and non-violence as female.
             Sara, obviously seeking to prove her strength, argued by stating that she got to decide which game to play if she had to use the "girl gun." She had already recognized the traditionally "demeaning" nature of female possessions. Throughout play, Sara sought to prove herself as a strong, "boyish" girl. It was she who told the boys to play "Pirates." It was also interesting to note Sara's inclination towards boy's games. She has 2 older brothers and it would be logical to assume that her familial environment helped shape her tendencies toward "boy things," to where she now ...