Hobby, Rocking, and Stick Horses: Gender Connotations--Poses


Figure 1.--This CDV image was taken at the Studio of William Caney in Durban, South Africa about 1890. The child is unidentified, but we believe that he is a boy. What we do not know is if he rode a hobby horse side saddle or was just posed this way. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

We are not sure to interpret some of the photographic portraits of children on hobby horses. There are childre, including boys, who are partioned on the hobbyhorse in a side-saddle position. Almosy always the boys so positioned are wearing skirted garments, usually dresses or kilts. What we are not sure about is whether this position meant that some boys not yet breaached were made to ride side saddle or if the position was set up just for the portrait. Some mothers may have wanted the child's garment to be displayed to best advantage. Other mothers made have though such a posing more decorious. We think that most girls were so posed. There are many portraits of boys, however, ride astride even before breaching. another factor to be considered is that many of these hobby horses were props at photographic studios and not the children's own trusty nursery steeds. The child here looks quite young, probably about 1 1/2 years old. Such a young child might find it very physically challenging to ride side saddle.

Reader Comments

A British reader writes, "I think that this was a posed position. The photographerhad the child placed on the Hobby Horse to be in a relaxed sitting position in a nursery setting rather than standing or sitting on a chair which would have been far more formal than in this pleasing picture. The garment as you suggest would be better shown this way too. The child would have slid off the hobby horse if he tried to ride it as a side saddle."







HBC





Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main hobby horse gender page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Theatricals]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Created: June 30, 2003
Last updated: July 1, 2003