When/how do girls learn to ‘pose’ for photos?

[BobBobBobbin]

Genuine question this...how/why/when do girls pick up the habit for posing for photos?

As the parent of two boys who will at best stand still for a photo under duress, this seems to be in marked contrast to most of the photos I see from parents of girls who seem to enjoy striking a pose for photos.

I’ll admit I sometimes wince a little at toddlers pouting and striking more ‘grown up’ poses but mostly it’s not that, it’s just a ‘pose’ (hands on hips, head to one side or something like that), or showcasing a dress they’re wearing by holding out the skirt or something.

I know I am generalising here but (with the exception of ‘superhero’ poses in costume) this is just not something I see boys doing and yet seems really common in girls aged 2-3 and upwards.

Do parents treat girls differently, do they pick it up from TV, peers. Where does it come from?

Probably from shallow people in their life who have taught them, either by doing it themselves or actually directing them.

You obviously haven’t met my son ....

On a more serious note they are copying the behaviour that they see around them, and the photos that they see. There’s a generation of pre-teens who can’t tell a human from a duck!

This seems to be something that's got worse since the advent of smartphones/insta etc.

Just about every time you see a picture of a young woman in a news report, even on a quality new site like the BBC, the photo is either a duck face selfie, or that slightly side on hands on hip leg out pose.

Even for serious news pieces. There was one not so long ago, I can't remember the content, but the woman in question was a trainee teacher and it was something related to her education or job situation so you'd expect to see her in business appropriate dress, not like she was heading for a nightclub.

See also the 'reservoir two' illustrated by a posed and heavily styled version of 'a walk in the country'.

Upsy Daisy holds out her skirt out and twirls around every time she's on camera.

Other female characters from toddler tv probably do the same. Sorry - not up to date with current pre-school programmes.

It starts early - the message that girls act one way, and boys another.

They're probably just echoing the way they see other females move their bodies, whether that's in real life or on TV.

Remember my DS at playgroup photos, was like a little model posing. Now he’s 20 you’ve got no hope of getting a photo.

I’m not sure about that young, but I definitely noticed from late juniors onwards the girls would start to pose. Stand sideways, one leg bent, arm on hip, head tilted, no smiling. Maybe one or two would stand up straight.

I took class photos for year 6 leavers party and couldn’t believe the Jostling amongst the girls to get into the ‘best’ angle.

The boys just piled on top of each other, arms round each other pulling faces.

Now they are older teens they post photos so filtered they look like different people.

It must be ingrained in people's behaviour. I recently saw a pic of someone going to a funeral. Both people in the pic were trying to "smile for the camera" unsuccessfully given they were upset and the larger one was doing the "stand sideways to look slimmer, one leg forward, head looking over shoulder" pose. I was shocked anyone would remember to do this under those circumstances, so I'm guessing it's automatic behaviour. Little children always copy their parents dancing so it makes sense they'd copy then posing too. Then after a few years it's ingrained behaviour.

Have no idea. Have a junior aged DD who has learned how to do this. Definitely didn’t get it from me...

Some of the kids are copying social media. The really young ones I can imagine it is copying or an old sibling.

Hate seeing little girls in very grow up poses☹

My boys occasionally pose, but most pictures are natural.

It's probably largely copying behaviour largely demonstrated by females be it mums, or the media.

I've noticed the media and posey selfies although sometimes images are gleaned from social media, so that will bias social pouts.
Young people used to have images of their school photo shared.

The selfie duck pout culture really does mystify me. Not a fan of all the weirdy filters either.

I don't think it's right to generalise. I've never seen DD14 do the sort of posing described here. She rarely uses Instagram, which I think is where some of the stereotypical hands on hips/pouty posing comes from.

My 11 year old boy has always been the biggest poser going 😂. He doesn’t mean to, it must just come naturally to him!

I’ve seen it plenty in DDs of friends of mine from aged 3 or so - they don’t have older female siblings, the mums are very much not instamums/Snapchat filter types. And yet the posing is the same? Must be TV and peers I guess.

It does make me feel a bit sad that it’s another subtle form of the way the importance of image and how we look seems to hit girls more and younger than it does boys.

(And I do realise I am generalising - not all girls do this, not all boys don’t)

I saw something written by a school photographer, saying that a few years ago they had to do their level best to get kids to smile, now they have to try to stop them immediately going into selfie pouty mode.

I think they practise for hours with their phones getting their “best” face. I’m sure in a few years these pics will look very dated.

I'd imagine most girls internalise the idea of themselves as objects for admiration very early, via media and life experiences.

My dds started to do "cute" poses with peace signs etc from around y1. This is not something they got from me or their dad.

@Stichintime

Probably from shallow people in their life who have taught them, either by doing it themselves or actually directing them.

Yes because learning how to pose for a photo makes you shallow 😂

Exactly what the whole Royal Family are. Especially the Queen

My dd doesnt pose, I don't and dh doesn't and she's an only child so hasn't learned to. She'll smile for a photo that's it.

Neice is opposite. Taught to pose from early age. BIL was putting filters on his kids since they've been born to make them look better in his eyes. Neice has the "family nose" which is a bit big and BILs photos of the kids are always photoshopping her nose. She's 6