Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, By Myra M. Ferree

When it comes to the social construction of gender, the way toy stores advertise their product play a huge role in the contribution. Sitting on the floor looking at the Walmart toy selection, I noticed a few things that I never really paid close attention to before. First, when did the colors pink and blue become a tool used as a gender binary? Second, why does it seem to be a pattern of the professions that the toy emulate in regards to each gender? Third, what does this all mean?

Major Critical Essay In her essay, “Gender”, Myra Jehlin asserts that, assuming gender is a social construct as opposed to biological truth, “the character conventionally assigned men and women in novels reflects history and culture rather than nature” (264). When applied to the characters of Washington Irving’s 1819 short story “Rip Van Winkle”, Rip and Dame Van Winkle are transformed from an expression of the roles men and women naturally fall into, to a reflection of the values and expectations of marriage espoused by the male-dominated society of 19th century America. Jehlen further argues that no works can be considered “timeless nor transcendent” in their message, because the context of a work effects that work in its own indelible way,

The toy section at Target had many clear differences in the toys for boys and the toys for girls. The types of toys that were out on the shelves were different, but also the way the toys were presented were different. Girls toys mainly consisted of stuffed animals, dress up clothes, babies and dolls including Bratz, Barbies and fairies. The primary colors of all these toys consisted of different shades of purple, pink, and white. There were bits of blue and yellow but it seemed that all the colors stood out and had a type of feminine aspect to them. Besides color, the girl’s toys were often soft and fuzzy or

The first thing a person notices upon walking into a store is all the different categories separated by different aisles and giant signs hanging from the ceiling. The categories are then separated into smaller, more specific sections. Like in the bathroom accessory aisles, there are different sections in it that include the towels, curtains, and soap dispensers. Kid’s clothes and toys are no different, they are both separated into two different major categories which are boys and girls. This separation between boys and girls does carry on throughout a person’s life, and influences many gender roles and biases.

In many shops, there seems to be an obvious separation between boys and girls items, for example, the birthday cards, books, clothes, and toys. This is shown in a variety of ways the boy's items are mainly the color blue and the books have pictures of either action figures, superheroes or tools. Whereas the girl's items are mainly the color pink. The books show pictures of fairies, princess, and Bratz. The cards also have the theme of the color pink for girls and blue for boys. The girl's cards have a lot of sparkles and pretty pictures whereas the boy's cards are covered in camo kind of illustrations and also have action figures on the covers. The children's clothes are separated into sections where there are labels for the boy's clothes and labels for the girl's clothes. The girl's clothing is all pretty and pink, it is covered in sparkles. Whereas boys clothing has camo patterns, blue colors, and pictures of action figures.

In a society filled with gender stereotypes, children often adopt gender roles as they move from childhood to adolescence because of the many factors that influence their views to the point they will deny certain roles because it does not fit the gender bias. During the early years, boys and girls will usually be drawn towards gender specific activities. Playing house for example, they little boy will imitate going to work, while the little girl will imitate cooking in the kitchen and playing with the baby doll. Gender stereotypes are embedded in our culture as a social identity giving “norms” to how gender is defined. This paper is going to discuss the child’s earliest exposure to gender roles in the home from clothing, toys and expectations to society’s role in gender bias on early childhood development.

In a near by Walmart I analyzed some of the toys that were on the boy section. Most of the items that I saw had an influence of violence and/or job related roles that men are usually known to work in. For instance, the Nerf N-Strillee Elite Cross Bolt Blaster, is designed to make boys feel the experience of having a real crossbow which can be viewed as a violent toy. This item had two main colors, blue and orange, which usually signifies as

The “house wife” raised kids, made the meals, kept the home neat and clean and generally were treated as support to the husband rather than a partner. Most American families were based around men going to the office, doing hard labor and bringing home a pay check at the end of the day while the women stayed home. Decades ago, the fact that the public perceived the role of a woman was at the home, toy makers would have cooking supplies and dolls aimed at little girls and tools and trucks directed at young boys because it made a more sense. Boy toys were “masculine” and girls were expected to play with dolls and other “feminine” toys. Studies show that most toys associated with boys were related to fighting or aggression including wrestlers, soldiers, and guns, and the toys most associated with girls were related to appearance including Barbie dolls and accessories, ballerina costumes, makeup, and jewelry (what the research).

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

Our roles as men and women start at the hospital when we are born. Boys get blue blankets while girls get pink blankets. The toys we play with growing up are targeted at either males or females. Toys that are made

In "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" by Katha Pollit states that the NOW or The National Organizational for Women was founded twenty-eight years ago, yet the boy’s still likes trucks and the girl’s plays with dolls. Despite major advances toward the achievement of equality for women, stereotypes are still clearly and purposefully keep going through the messages adults send to children about gender roles.  Society stressed that girls are not supposed to be big, strong and powerful, and that boys should not be weak, petite and play with such things as dolls or girly toys. Pollit analyzes why boys don’t play with dolls and how women trying to fit the “American ideal”. Most fathers do not want their boys to play with dolls because they feel that

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,

One example of this is appendix E, a “my first purse” kit featuring a purse, cell phone, credit card, set of keys and lipstick. This toy fits into two different gender roles, it is a fashion toy, and features an aspect of personal beauty. These two roles are widely seen across toys labeled for girls. Furthermore this toy features mostly pink, fitting into the color palette typically seen in girls toys. Another example of a girls toy fitting into traditional gender roles is the tea set seen in appendix C.

Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my

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.