Gender Be Toys

Toys play an important role in childhood development as children learn roles and skills from playing. As a result, the toys children are subjected to have an affect on which roles, interests, and skills are learned and practiced. Through Lego’s product Duplo, I will demonstrate the influence particular gendered toys have on children and their performance of traditional gender roles. Gender, which is a learned performance, is something society has been taught from a very early age and toy advertising has played a significant role in reinforcing the performance. One tradition that is reinforced and naturalized by society is the ideology of a male dominated society, representing strong characteristics of heterosexuality and masculinity; also known as hegemonic masculinity. Therefore, using Ideological Criticism, I will analyze how through the branding and design of Lego’s Duplo toys, children have been constructed to do gender differently, ultimately perpetuating and reinforcing hegemonic masculinity.

Characteristics such as these mentioned can be seen in toys determining so much about a toys identity and what they represent. Studies have shown that these qualities also have an immense effect on what audience or gender group interacts with the toys along with the overall marketing of toys. A partnered experiment run by the departments of psychology at The University of Cambridge and The University of Hong Kong observed toddlers playing with two gender-typical toys, once in gender-typical colors and once in gender typical colors (Wong and Hines). These assessments occurred twice, for four minute periods, at two different age groups that included twenty to forty months of age and twenty-six to forty-seven months of age (Wong and Hines). After, results between sex and toy choice along with sex and color were collected. It was found that “Boys played more with the train than girls did and girls played more with the doll and with pink toys than boys did” (Wong and Hines). At both time collections, boys and girls combined played more with the gender-atypical toy when its color was typical for their sex than when it was not (Wong and Hines). After reviewing the results, it is suggested that once children develop gender-typical color preferences, they begin to influence their toy preferences, especially those for gender-atypical toys and

This article details the different ways that gender is socialized through children’s toys and how drastically this mechanism has changed throughout time. This doesn’t stop at toys but goes as far as sexualized Halloween and dress up costumes. Girl’s costumes more often portray sexualized appearances while boy’s costumes often resemble “masculine” characters. These toys and costumes can influence what direction a child’s life will take with regards to college major, occupation and societal roles. It doesn’t stop there; children are even being drawn away from talents and interests and towards stereotyped gender related activities. These different mechanism of gender socialization didn’t exist until recently, though. In the 1970’s, only 2% of

     Few toys were aimed equally at both genders. Even board games, while intended for both sexes, usually seemed aimed more towards one gender or another. Both sections had a lot of gender- stereotypical toys. General ideas on girls’ and boys’ behaviors and interests were very prevalent in the toys intended for each gender. After really looking at the toys in both sections it is easy to understand why stereotypical ideas about both genders are so strong since these ideas are introduced at such a young

​Walk into any home with toddlers, and you will no doubt be able to tell whether the child is a boy or a girl by a quick peek into the playroom. Trucks, trains, planes, and baseballs will scream boy; while a room full of pink and frilly dolls and stuffed animals have little girl written all over it. Judith Elaine Blakemore, professor of psychology and associate dean of Arts and Sciences for Faculty Development at Indiana University and Jeffrey Trawick-Smith, professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut, did a research study about the impact of specific toys on play. They found that,

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

Banerjee and Lintern (2000) examined the salience of children’s preference for toys in private and public settings. Their findings indicate that younger children hold more rigid ideas of what kinds of toys their gender should be playing with, and that children would

Children since birth, were assigned their gender, thus the assigned gender has determined what they liked or disliked; boys like cars, guns, and video games. While girls liked Barbie, cooking, or makeup. Without a doubt, it follows the children all the way to their adulthood. According to a source cited in Marriages & families: changes, choices, and constraints, it stated that providing children with a variety of toys; both boys and girls would, “Develop a wider repertoire of skills” (Benokraitis, 2015, p. 126). From this information alone, it has opened my mind to accept that toys should be gender neutral. After all, it is just toys. Boy deserve to develop their expressive, and nurturing sides. Girls also deserve to develop their assertive, and resilient traits. It is obvious that many young boys

Gender socialization often begins early once parents are shown the sex of their child; from then on, baby showers are planned according to gender “appropriate” colors, which are often pink for girls and blue for boys. Even differences in how children are spoke to can be picked up easily in Western cultures. Girls are called pretty and sweet, whereas boys are handsome and strong. Ultimately, the way children learn to identify with their gender culture is in part due to not only family and friends, media, schools, and religion, but also from the toys that may inexplicitly advertise gender expectations. Gender-typed toys may be bought for children as a way for parents to encourage and reinforce gender-appropriate behaviors. However, recent debates have engulfed toy manufacturers and major retailers, which has brought about changes in toy design and marketing in an effort to make reflect more realistic and gender neutral options.

“Raise boys and girls the same way,” a phrase originally said by neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, that urges parents as well as people to raise children without a heavy influence of gender stereotypes and let the child discover how they want to represent themselves. A large divide between little boys and girls is shown in the toy industry. The retail chain Target recognized the influence of the gender bias toys and the impact they have on children and parents and began neutralizing labels within the toy department. Toys should not be gender biased because gender stereotyping has wavered back and forth over the past fifty years. Gender-biased toys can have an impact on a child’s development, and the unnecessary labeling of toys has sparked a cultural shift in society.

Children learn as early as age two what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl” (Aina & Cameron). This is described as gender identity, a person’s sense of self as male or female. Gender stereotyping emerges hand in hand with the development of gender identity in Early Childhood (Halim). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes and activities of males and females. When babies are born they are either put in pink or blue, as they grow up they still maintain the same “gender” colors. As young children start to socialize, they are playing with either “girl” toys or “boy” toys. When they get older they

Children gravitate towards same-gender type toys based on being influenced and from learning what is expected from parents and society. Gender role stereotyping is one of the most consistent domains in which adults play a major role in children’s socialization (Campenni, 1991; Idle, Wood, & Desmarais, 1993; Lytton & Romney, 1991). Past research has proven young children tend to pick

In today’s society, parents throughout the United States differ on their views towards children’s toys. Some children face different options and consequences when wanting a toy from the opposite gender section. Occasionally, you will see in the headlines of a newspaper saying how progressive a mother is because she allows her son to wear a princess costume. Mainly, the toys that are aimed towards boys are associated with sports and aggression. Yet for girls, the toys that are aimed towards them are associated with homemaking and glamor. These qualities are so recognized and known that I have decided to do an essay on them to see what is alike and what is different in the areas of the toys. I decided to follow two families for this analysis. These two families both come from a Mexican culture. In household X, the family is both Mexican and American. In household Y, the family comes from a strict Mexican culture. In response to my analysis, based on what I have seen in both of the households I visited, I feel as though the children should choose what matters to them in relevance to the fun. Allowing the children to have a variety of toys opens up different skills. Different toys bring different challenges. Parents should not restrict their children to strong gender toys, as though it could not help them develop physically, academically, artistically, cognitively, and musically.

Children are intended to have more fun and choice in their lives, as upon reaching adulthood, rigorous work structure begins to form. I’m not saying that children should choose every life choice they have, but to be allowed freedom of choice and expression. Toys are among one of the most popular gender stereotypes in children. There should not be “boys toys” or “girls toys”. Children should be able to play with whatever they want without having to be frowned upon for choosing a toy that may seem too ‘feminine’ for a boy, or too ‘masculine’ for a girl’. They should be allowed to play with whatever they want (within reasonable price range) that will make them happy. Often, children will persuade their parents into getting whatever toy they want, even if the parent remains unhappy. However, if the enforcement of gender stereotypes begins at a very young age, the kids themselves will follow and attempt to enforce them.

Girls and boys both grow up being socialized on what is normal and unusual for their gender. At a young age they are given the idea of what is expected of them based on whether they are male or female. Toys are a prominent factor in this socialization, because they are typically presented for one gender and are unacceptable for the other. To assess how toys play a role in gender socialization, I made a trip to Toys R’ Us in College Station and surprisingly found that the gender beliefs have changed quite a bit since I was a child in the late 90s to early 2000s.