Girl and Boy c. 1850s

McClees and Germon made these ambrotype portraits of a ‘Girl and Boy’ sometime between 1846 and 1855, capturing the rigid social expectations of gender during the Victorian era. Here, we see two children posed in separate frames. The girl, in a dress and chair, embodies domesticity and passivity, while the boy, standing with a hat resting on a table, is a picture of budding masculinity. These images speak to the ways clothing and setting were used to inscribe gender roles onto children from a very young age. Reflecting on these images, we might consider the psychological impact of such strict categorization. The emotional weight of these expectations is almost palpable, hinting at the confines of identity and the pressures to conform that shaped individual experiences. They remind us of how deeply ingrained these constructs were, and perhaps still are, within our culture.