Lei Fesaitu
English 165
Professor Gridley
Oct 25th, 2014 Blue is for boys and Pink is for Girls
Christmas is an opportunity one has to spend time with family, give selfishly to
one another, celebrate the spirit of Christmas, and for many religious people around the
world, it is the day to celebrate Jesus birth. Most children in America wake up every
Christmas morning to presents and toys that their parents, grandparents and relatives have
have purchased for them. This is the one time every year that children are reminded of
where their place is and where it will be in the future world. Boys are showered with
toys, by way of societies impression, that give them an implant in their mind of
masculinity, domination, superior
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Barbie has been a long popular female idol among
young females from past to present years. She has the makings of the perfect girl by
being thin, attractive and glamorous. Her accessories ranges from short skirts, shorts,
bras, bikinis, dresses, combs, purses, mirrors, to hair and makeup items. Her body style is
consistent with societies ideology of beautiful, which is having long legs and a small
waist frame. This gives the impression that if any female does not look like Barbie, Ken
may not be attracted to you or males in general won’t take notice of you. How can other
females that are bigger at the waist and wear larger clothes relate to the gender role
assigned by Barbie’s image? They can’t, so it may push these females to feel insecure
about their looks, image and weight. According to Rob Watson, “they definitely
segregated boys' toys from girls' toys, and each had its unique, predetermined
subcategories. Boys had action-oriented categories, and girls had homemaking- and
beauty-oriented categories”(Watson). Toy Companies continuously sell these ideas
unwittingly helping promote a male dominated future.
Fesaitu 3 Do the issues surrounding sex specific toys fall largely on toy companies
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Males are always expected to be rolling in rough
play, which may explain the reasons behind how kids play with their toys. And it is boys
who do request gender-stereotyped toys. “At every age, about 75% of their requests were
for boy toys”(Dewar). So in reality, its not only the parents or the toy companies, it’s the
young males themselves who feel a certain masculine instinct to live up to. Why the
spike in percentage of male toy choice? Kids of both sexes are encouraged to play with
“gender-typical” toys. But boys may be more strongly stigmatized for playing in gender
atypical ways(Kane 2006). They are filled with the emotional reaction of these traits,
which will mold their mind and personality into adulthood. These traits come in forms of
toy trucks, cars, construction blocks, soldiers, army camps, weapons, etc. And it is not
always the toy itself, it is also the way they play with them. Give any young male a lion
and he might act out battle scenes in the jungle. A young female may take a different
approach and stage dramas or treat the lion as a pet.
Are females the specific target of gender assigned toys? Yes! “In the world of
I noticed the girls’ toys engaged fine motor skills more than the boys’ toys did. The girls have several different types and sizes of dolls to choose from – however, this also makes dolls or items used with dolls (Barbie clothes, doll clothes, doll houses, Barbie cars, and doll furniture) over half of all the products in the girls’ section. This shows the stereotypical attitude that all girls like to nurture and will someday be expected to be mothers and the primary care giver for their children. Other toys I noticed that were very stereotypical were the child size vacuum, broom, and kitchen set. Even at this young age we teach girls it is part of their role to cook and clean.
I am not saying that a Barbi doll is necessarily a bad thing, besides the fact that some of her outfits are frightening, but I would rather have the life like rocket that can fly a 100 feet up before it returns to the ground. This discussion might appear superficial at first, but there is an underlying problem to why a parent might want to encourage their young daughters to play with a science kit instead of deciding what evening gown Barbi looks best in. A lot of the toys designed for boys might also be used as a learning tool. When a boy plays with legos and starts to create buildings he is developing his creativity. This act could lead him into a career as an architect or engineer. When he is encouraged to play with rockets or a microscope he has the potential of developing an interest in science that could lead him into a career working on satellites.
Pike, J. J., & Jennings, N. A. (2005). The Effects of Commercials on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Appropriate Toy Use. Sex Roles, 52(1/2), 83-91. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-1195-6
That is, boys will customarily receive blue clothing or toys while pink clothing or toys will be for girls. “Children‘s toys and games are also differentiated on the basis of sex” (Diekman and Murnen 2004; Seccombe p.99). Through these toys or playing with these toys, boys and girls would eventually distinguish the differences between male and female; also, may strengthen, and perpetuate the traditional gender stereotypes. For instance, boys or men are expected to act and behave in ways that have been considered masculine or associated with masculinity (Seccombe p.104); “men are often assumed to be more aggressive, sexual, unemotional, rational, and task oriented than women” (Seccombe p.93); and thus, action figures, such as Superman, WWE wrestling toys, and Hulk are made for boys to play with. While girls or women’s roles are associated with femininity (Seccombe p.104); “women are assumed to be more nurturing, passive, and dependent” (Seccombe p.93); and so, cooking and baking set and baby dolls with bottle feeding and diapering set are made for girls, so, they could apply their nurturing and culinary skills when they get older and mainly do household chores. Personally, I believe these toys have both negative and positive influence on children’s socialization. For instance, playing with toy guns or military toy set with a knife may lead to early exposure to violence and aggression. However, some toys, such as Lego building set and blocks, arts and crafts have a powerful and influential influence on children’s thinking and
Although, the pictures illustrate that girls 'enjoy dresses ' and pink toys while boys enjoy active play toys, such as balls. Most of the toys in this store would seem to prepare girls to be princess and boys to be athletes. In contrast, there is a miscellaneous section that had gender neutral toys for an age group of kids 3-7; these toys had cooking sets, medical sets, and farming sets. Subsequently, it can be said that some of these gender-neutral toys could be preparing children for roles as farmers, doctors, and chefs. This section of gender-neutral toys seemed to be just randomly placed in the middle of the store, and the only other gender-neutral section seemed to be in the 1-5 age range. I didn’t see a ‘strategy of attraction’ for these gender-neutral toys. For this miscellaneous section, it seemed to be more of the predisposition of a child, for example, a child that may like horses might gravitate towards the gender-neutral farming set. For the 1-5 age, the attraction would be the sounds, touches, and movements of the toy. In this TOYS R US, it seemed to
Francis’s study analyzes three to five-year-old preschool students as well as their parents about their views about toys and viewing materials based on gender. The study showed that parental beliefs shaped their child 's opinions of gender roles based on the toys they played with. The parent 's idea of what is female and what is male is transferred onto the toys their child plays with which in terms developed their child 's stereotype of what is male and female based on their toy selection and color. In the article “How do today 's children play and with which toys?”, by Klemenovic reference that a child 's view on gender stereotypes is developed by their parents who train them on how to use the toys. Klemenovic (2014) states "Adults start training in the first months of a child 's life because knowledge of objects is the outcome of other people 's behavior towards us" (Klemenovic, 2014, p. 184). Young children’s development of gender stereotypes is largely influenced by his or her parent’s actions and view on what they consider male or female. A parent’s color preference and toy selection can influence a child’s gender bias or association to a specific
First off, I will describe the role the toys are playing when it comes to the socialization process for boys and girls. The masculine wrestling action figures and construction vehicles are showing boy 's their gender roles. In the book, “You May Ask Yourself”, defines social roles as “the concept of gender roles, set of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as male or female” (Conley, pg 130). In the store it is fairly easy for parents to find which part of the store will fit their kids gender roles. For parents with young boys, all they have to do is look for the blue in the store. When looking for the girl toys, parents just need to find the pink. Parents are actively doing gender in their child
From this research of examining how gender socialization is projection through toys to children, have led to conclusion that in order to prevent children from living by these stereotypes portrayed through toys, parents should encourage gender-neutral and cross-gender play in children at an early age. Just for the mere that their brain is so receptive to knowledge into creating to become the person they are to be in life. Give children a chance to not only have fun while playing with their toys and that there aren’t any pressures on them that this what they should be and that there a mind full options that they can choose from.
In other words, even when parents know that it is wrong to assume that their children will assume roles, they will continue to push boys and girls in different directions. Specially, in the family, boys and girls are not equal, for this reason they must play with different toys according to their gender.
Children start to define their gender identity in early preschool (Zhumkhawala 47). This means that the toys children are given go a long way to further (or help change) gender stereotypes and inequality. In general, boys are given trucks, blocks and doctor’s kits, encouraging them to build, explore how things work and be a...
Though both genders seem to spend the same amount playing, boys and girls differ in several aspects of play. Girls tend to engage in more socio-dramatic play that includes higher levels of play sequence than boys. Girls also play in a more scripted way with toys. (Cherney & Dempsey, 2010; Cherney, Kelly-Vance, Glover, Ruane & Ryalls, 2003) Both play sequence and scripted play determine play complexity therefore the intricacy of play depends on the gender of the toy.
The socialization of children is greatly affected by the toys they are exposed to while growing up. Looking through magazines and walking down the aisles of toy stores it is clear that toy companies are supportive of cultural gender roles biases. Toys designed for girls are commonly found in pink boxes; typically these toys involve housework or taking care of children, for example, dolls and easy bake ovens. On the other hand, “boy” toys are found in blue and black boxes, and a lot of them involve construction and cars.
Francis, Becky. "Gender, Toys and Learning." Taylor and Francis. N.p., 09 June 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
First and foremost, gender marketing strategies and gender system’s play a major role in how toys are presented. Toys are usually advertised based on gender. While observing toys in commercials and the stores, male and female toys are displayed based on gender roles. Toys targeting males may come off as violent and aggressive by displaying bulky built action figures or realistic guns. This is the opposite with female toys which give off more of a calming, cleaning and nurturing feeling with their dolls and household toys such as houses, cooking and cleaning toys. Additionally, common gender classifications which consist of masculine and
and toys that inspire a male behavior. As oppose to if a girl is born, the family members