Should Toys Be Gender Specific?

In the article “Gender-Neutral Toy Sections Are Good For Boys, Too” written by Megan Condis, Condis goes over the recent incident with Target removing gender specific toy aisles. People claim that it will help girls more considering that most of the girls toys are labeled with gender while the boys toys stand as a “default”. In her argument she states that although it will benefit girls from making them have to think they have to stick to only “girl” toys, it will benefit boys because they can now break that idea that they have to play with “boy” toys. I completely agree with Condis in her argument and fully believe that the gender specific toys affect boys just as much, if not more.

In the world of toy marketing, choices are made with direction put in place for both genders (girl and boy). For example, as I walked down each toy aisle, I felt the gender conformity among the parents as they were with their children. With multiple aisles and two dominant colors (pink and purple) designated for girls, the message (in my perspective) marketed on the toy package yelled: “Your ambition is to be stylish, while a nurturing mother who partakes in domestic works!” In addition to the toy packages being in pink, the words (on the toy) were predominately frivolous and amusing. On the contrary, the boys’ aisle contained wide varieties of colors, although the color blue caught my eye the most. The boys’ toys entailed sports, building sets, as well as action figures. Conversely, the message in my perspective, marketed on the toy package screamed: “You have the power to do whatever you want; however, it is imperative that you build yourself physically, as well as train yourself in order to properly excel.” This type of act, referred to as the social role theory—“a gender difference that mainly results from the contrasting roles of females and males” (p.165),—gives a great cause of difference in gender regarding power, nurture, and

To put it another way, Beyond Barbie: New toys shows girls a path toward science and math are STEM dolls that like it says in the first section encourages girls to do anything and be anybody. ”Normal dolls send the wrong message and discourage girls”. ”STEM dolls send the right message” says Purdue University's study. STEM dolls are sending the message of freedom from stereotypes.

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.

Claire with help from sociologist Elizabeth Sweet, they attempt to go back in time trying to find the cause of all this. Before the 1960s, girl toys mainly focused on homemaking and boy toys were centered on the industrial economy. This research shows that all this changed significantly with the rise of feminist movements in the 1970s. The change did not last long as in the 1990s, and gendered toys came back with a bang! With action heroes and princess in the market.

Baby dolls, toy cleaning supplies and toy kitchens are usually targeted to young girls. Presented in the Wall Street Journal by Jolie Solomon, it is widely known that there is a division between kids’ gender identities and

For boys, the toys were “characterized by action, construction, and machinery,” while the characteristics for girls’ choices were “nurture, and other stereotypically ‘feminine’ interests” (p.329). This statement fits perfectly with what I have observed at the toys/games section, as the majority of the toys sold in the girls section were centered around nurturing. From this, I can see the association of certain characteristics to one gender is being reinforced by the marketing style. Francis also quoted from Alldred and David’s observations that children learn about sex and sexuality more from resources outside school education (p. 339), which would mean one of the external resources are toys. This made me question if whether we can truly teach anti-bias to children if the toys are marketed in such ways that influence children’s perception of gender.

I believe that toy companies do have a moral obligation to consider the social impact of their toys. In the article "How do Children's Toys Affect Gender Roles?", it talks about how toys target either boys or girls, and it teaches them on how to act "properly" to fit into society. I feel that if companies sold gender-neutral toys, the world would be a nicer place with a lot less judgement. People would be less cookie-cutter and have more personality overall without being called "gay" or some other term. In the poem "Barbie Doll," the author reveals the sad truth about what a lot of women go through to be "pretty."

In today’s society, there is a belief that only girls can play with Barbie Dolls while boys can only play with Action Figures. Parents believe if they allowed their sons or daughters to play with feminine or boyish toys that are not meant for them their child would grow up either gay or lesbian. It’s not fair for parents to restrike their children from playing with toys because one toy is meant for girls while the other is meant for boys. Children have the right to play with whatever toy they want. Society and Parents should stop reflexing their opinions and beliefs on children toys. There is nothing wrong with girls playing with Action Figures and there is nothing wrong with boys playing with Barbie Dolls.

Reflecting upon my own childhood, I seemed to hold little interest in toys that were geared toward the opposite gender. I gravitated toward toys that would allow me to construct items around me. For example, I might build a car with Legos or K’Nex. I was not particularly interested in sports, though my parents never really pushed me toward them. This is most likely due to my extreme lack of hand-eye coordination. However, I had an unusually profound desire to experiment and take apart everything that entered my path. It wasn’t until about the age of ten that anyone had a working computer or VCR due to my curiosity concerning how electronics and computers worked. This clearly had an influence on my adult life, as I now make a living off of fixing and building computers. Many would consider this to be a direct correlation to male trades.

Gender norms today have become a big part of our society as they are present in our every day life from advertisements, clothes, to the way we are supposed to act, and even in toys. In order to appeal to a certain customer, advertisements use many gender norms that apply to customers. One of the most impactful gender norms that I find to be is in the kid’s toys because I believe that it’s teaching these kids about how to act. Kids ranging from very early ages know what types of toys they should play with and what toys they aren’t supposed to play with. For example, little boys would play with cars and action figures while on the other hand girls would play with dolls and a tea party set. Many of the toys for girls have been shaped to show them that are supposed to be more friendly and kind. These toys have made it so that there are certain way’s little girls should act and also what things they should like.

I love a lot of the points that you brought up, specifically the examples about color coded stereotypes ( blue vs pink), as well as certain toys that are more "appropriate" for girls and boys. I wrote a similar topic, and due agree with you how these gender-role standards are limiting the potentials of BOTH genders. Females are still often associated with being the home-maker while men are working today.

Toys also influenced children with gender roles. In our society, the typical expectations of men is to financial support the family, and for females it’s to cook, clean, and take care of the children. “Both wives and husbands tend to perceive this as a “fair” arrangement” (Zimmerman 30). To instill this idea in young minds, there are toys that influence these gender roles. Boys have toy tool sets, promoting hands on work. Girls on the other hand have cooking and cleaning toys such as the Easy Bake Oven or toy vacuums. Also “parents tend to encourage more gender-typed activities. One study found that household tasks differ along gender lines. American boys are more likely to mow the lawn, shovel snow, take our the garbage, and do the yard work, whereas girls tended to clean the house, wash dishes, cook, and baby-sit the younger children” (Newman 133). Girls also like to play “house” fostering wife and motherly qualities such as taking care of the family. These toys help with socialization making children believe and understand that these are the norms of our society. So in conclusion to toys, “Sex-specific toys foster different traits and skills in children and thereby serve to further segregate the two sexes into different patterns of social development. “Boys’ toys” encourage invention, exploration,

Having grown up with two brothers I was always around toys such as action figures and toy guns. I did not have a sister to play with, so I usually played with my brothers. When I played with them, I started to question why all of their toys were just for boys. Why was there not any women action figures or ones with feminine colors? Gender-stereotyped toys are prohibiting children from a range of skills.

The battle between the marketing of gender bias toys and stereotypes dates back to the 1950s. Girls were given toys which reflected the life of the homemaker women at the time and boys were influenced by army toys to become “tough” men. However, society grew out of these “norms” by the 1970s, according to Elizabeth Sweet, a sociologist studying children and gender equality at the University of California, nearly 70 percent of toys had no gender-specific labels at all (Robb). In fact, the most desired Christmas toy of 1970 was the Nerf Ball. The packaging of the ball displays an image of both a boy and girl playing with the “incredibly soft and spongy synthetic foam” ball. The following nine years of