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Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

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Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#11

Post by vnorilo »

myspy wrote: post #5
yetihehe wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just specifically lists how children could play with those dolls, not all articles must have "newly discovered insights". For example, I didn't know they had such precisely made and articulated dolls in those times.

I always wonder what kids could play with in other time periods. I guess that woodwork always was pretty excellent, so there could be all sorts of stuff that is lost by now.

I'm pretty sure kids would do just fine with sticks, mud, pine cones and whatever scrap is lying around. At least mine did before they got engaged in the paychological warfare that is cartoons, toy stores and catalogs.

Even now they seem to stay interested in their paper boats/air planes much longer than the latest paw patrol truck.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#12

Post by dudeinjapan »

myspy wrote: post #5
yetihehe wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just specifically lists how children could play with those dolls, not all articles must have "newly discovered insights". For example, I didn't know they had such precisely made and articulated dolls in those times.

I always wonder what kids could play with in other time periods. I guess that woodwork always was pretty excellent, so there could be all sorts of stuff that is lost by now.

For girls in all cultures, playing with some form of doll is a near universal. It's even true of young female chimpanzees.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/101220-chi...

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#13

Post by seneca »

> These toys carried strong messages about girls’ expected roles in society.

It's sad to see this Critical Theory nonsense trickling into real disciplines. Children play pretend, and they dress their dolls like their mothers and other people they admire. It's not an insidious plot, it's a culture and youthful admiration.

If you can look at a toy a child loves so much that they were buried with it and see a ploy by society to control them, you've gone off the rails.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#14

Post by bluGill »

myspy wrote: post #5
yetihehe wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just specifically lists how children could play with those dolls, not all articles must have "newly discovered insights". For example, I didn't know they had such precisely made and articulated dolls in those times.

I always wonder what kids could play with in other time periods. I guess that woodwork always was pretty excellent, so there could be all sorts of stuff that is lost by now.

My aunt growing up in Korea (just after WWII when it wasn't nearly as rich as today) used carrots that had two legs for her dolls. Kids can make anything work.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#15

Post by crocsarecool »

seneca wrote: post #13

> These toys carried strong messages about girls’ expected roles in society. It's sad to see this Critical Theory nonsense trickling into real disciplines. Children play pretend, and they dress their dolls like their mothers and other people they admire. It's not an insidious plot, it's a culture and youthful admiration. If you can look at a toy a child loves so much that they were buried with it and see a ploy by so…

Yeah, I was surprised they made that leap to the dolls carrying messages about their expected roles in society. As a little girl, my doll was more an outlet to be able to imitate my mother. She’d give me a cuddle, clothe me, put me down for a nap, and I did all that with my doll. I also had a play telephone that I’d pretend to use while watching my parents speak on the telephone. My expected role in society isn’t a telephone operator.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#16

Post by dbspin »

seneca wrote: post #13

> These toys carried strong messages about girls’ expected roles in society. It's sad to see this Critical Theory nonsense trickling into real disciplines. Children play pretend, and they dress their dolls like their mothers and other people they admire. It's not an insidious plot, it's a culture and youthful admiration. If you can look at a toy a child loves so much that they were buried with it and see a ploy by so…

Right? And the message they carry is that adulthood is possible. The entire point of dolls for both boys and girls is to play at being adults, which they do spontaneously cross culturally anyway. These toys facilitate fantasies of empowerment and maturity, and as such are an important part of how we develop into adult humans. They're not top down imposed cultural conditioning.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#17

Post by frellus »

seneca wrote: post #13

> These toys carried strong messages about girls’ expected roles in society. It's sad to see this Critical Theory nonsense trickling into real disciplines. Children play pretend, and they dress their dolls like their mothers and other people they admire. It's not an insidious plot, it's a culture and youthful admiration. If you can look at a toy a child loves so much that they were buried with it and see a ploy by so…

Spot on. I have two girls. Neither were "encouraged" to play with dolls, nor was it any sort of "gender role re-enforcement".

Girls like dolls because it's roll play on many levels (relationships, role) as well as a way to nurture something, as is likely built into the female DNA and brain.

If you think dolls are some sort of abusive form of biased gender conformity, you're sick in the head and we could never hang out together.

Re: Girls and dolls in the Roman Empire

#20

Post by RIMR »

seneca wrote: post #13

> These toys carried strong messages about girls’ expected roles in society. It's sad to see this Critical Theory nonsense trickling into real disciplines. Children play pretend, and they dress their dolls like their mothers and other people they admire. It's not an insidious plot, it's a culture and youthful admiration. If you can look at a toy a child loves so much that they were buried with it and see a ploy by so…

Yeah, how dare anyone study the past and the present in order to consider the best path for the future. Real science is about accepting things at face value and never asking hard questions.
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