Didn't you want the blue one?

Last Friday I volunteered at Indian Knoll's fun fair at a balloon sit game. The point of the game was to sit on a balloon until it popped (which was actually quite a struggle for a lot of the kids) to find the ticket inside that said what kind of prize was won. Other volunteers gave us erasers, rock star tattoos, and rings to give out as prizes to kids who popped their balloons (we gave out prizes to everyone who tried anyway). While I was handing out prizes to kids, I noticed that parents expected their children to prefer objects associated with their gender--for example, pink rings for girls and tattoos for boys. I was kind of shocked when one mom became upset with her son for choosing a pink eraser instead of the prizes the other boys tended to want. She put the eraser back, asking if he preferred something else, and picked out a more masculine prize. This situation and several others like it made me think of the different roles expected of people who have girl statuses and boy statuses. I've become so used to being around high school students who are more open-minded and accepting of different personalities. Watching children and parents interacting at the fun fair reminded me of how big of an impact roles like these have on people in society.