http://fototeca.antropologia.uady.mx/ficha.php?buscar1=4A05026.jpg
Family dynamics tend to change when exploring different cultures. For example, Eastern cultures place emphasis on the elderly while Western cultures tend to not focus on extended families as much. As I was searching through the photos in the library, I started out with professions and quickly realized that all the photos of doctors were male dominated (not surprising). I then decided to switch from exploring careers to focusing on the individual and there too I found that photos of women largely included portraits while the photos of men depicted them in groups or a work setting. This quickly made me wonder if the familial setting of older Merida also illustrated this difference in gender roles as well.
When I decided to look up photos of how families were captured, I saw the standard nuclear family dynamic of a man, wife, and kids. The placement of the family members in these family portraits demonstrates how male centered the culture was/is. The man is placed in the center of the frame with his family surrounding him. At first glance, the man catches the viewers eyes before they take in the rest of the family. The woman in this photo even seems to sink into the background as her children surround her. This patriarchal dynamic holds true across many different cultures around the globe. I come from a traditional Middle Eastern family in which the males have final authority in the family dynamic. When I look back at old family photos from my parents’ childhoods, I can see the same pattern in how the family is framed. The men are always up and center with the wife and kids decorated around them. While this may not demonstrate great importance about the culture of Merida itself, it is always interesting to see how something as simple as a family photo can unpack gender roles and stereotypes. It makes me wonder how simple changes to placement can alter our perception of family dynamics, if it can at all.
