boys vs. girls

I thought some of the pictures that we looked at last on Thursday were really interesting. I was especially taken back by the "diamond ring" rattle. To groom girls at such a young age to only aspire to marriage and jewelry seems pretty terrible. Everything that young children are taught and given has a huge impact on the rest of their life. Young boys are given toys that resemble tools and cars. Basically, they are taught that they are EXPECTED to do other things besides getting married. Why should young girls be taught any less? Obviously, this got me thinking about other gender constructions like this. Although there are definitely some limiting male gender constructions, the female gender expectations really seem to be inferior. A lot of them seem to make a woman frivelous with life centered around a man. Women have a come a long way as far as becoming independent, but I wonder if these limiting gender constructions will ever really diminish.