Gender Socializing Children Toys

When it comes to toys kids think that they have to play with their own genders toy.In the artical ¨What the research says:gender-typed toy¨ toys girls play with dolls,custom,jewelry,etc but most boys play with fighting toys,soldiers,action figures etc.The best thing for kids to play with is non gender toys like art,music,sports etc.If all kids played with these things then they would learn to be more active and physical with boys and girls.As your child grows they will learn that gender type toys were not necessary,instead kids can actually play sports or draw with different genders.The reason why kids love gender toys is because they are based upon movies and tv shows.When the kids see a new movie they will go to the store and buy the toy

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.

Should toys stores separate toys by gender? All toys should not be marketed as a boy or girl toy. In the article Are gender toys harming childhood development it says, “All toys are neutral genders. What is not is not neutral is the way toys are marketed.” When they say this it means that that all toys can be played with a boy or a girl but the way stores market the toys they usually say Boys or Girls. According to the passage called Are gender toys harming childhood it say,”If you take a truck and show a girl playing with the truck, that girl would most likely play with it and see it as a girl’s toy” This means that some toys are not only for boys but that if you someone other than yourself playing with a toy you would probably go with the

In my household growing up, I was always told that girls should play with girl toys, and boys should play with boy toys. I do not remember challenging this gender ideology, I just complied and played with my dolls and ponies. In today’s society, I believe we have begun start the process of moving away from these gender cultural norms, but we still have quite a ways to go. For example, Target has now taken away the signs that state girl and boy toy isles. However, I feel like I have seen an influx of “boy” toys being made pink so that girls can play with them. My daughter loves to play and make Lego creations. If she were only to play with the “girl” Lego sets that are pink and marketed towards girls, her selection would be very limited.

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.

Girls and boys both grow up being socialized on what is normal and unusual for their gender. 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 was surprised by how the store was organized.

Those who agree that gender is a social construct would also argue that gendered behaviour is not innate, and that it is learnt throughout development. Gender identity is defined as “the way in which being feminine or masculine, woman or man, becomes an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves” (Ryle, 2014). The idea of masculinity and femininity and the strong distinction between the two are taught to us throughout our lives. An individual’s earliest exposure to the concept of gender comes from parental influence. Many studies show that parents socialize their children from birth by creating distinct environments for boys and girls and treating son’s and daughter’s differently. For instance, parents are more likely to assign domestic chores such as cooking, mending clothes and doing laundry to daughters, whereas sons are more likely to be assigned maintenance chores such as mowing lawn, small household repairs and carrying out garbage (Lackey, 1989). Parents may also use more emotive language when talking to their daughter’s and might encourage certain interests such as math and science in son’s, by purchasing more math and science toys and committing to other promotive activities (Jacobs & Bleeker, 2004; Leaper, 1998; Tenenbaum &

When I was little I only saw the word gender as a term to identify with yourself as male or female. I always had a doll that I would carry around with me no matter where I went. As I got older, I got out of the doll phase and started to get into video games more. Unlike some parents, mine never told me to stop playing video games because I am a girl and to go play with dolls instead because that is what girls do. My parents always let my sister and I play with whatever we wanted. As, I got older I learned that some of my friend’s parents have been gender typing their kids. They would tell the boy that it is wrong for him to want to play with

A little girl is sitting on a couch playing with her brother’s action figure. Her mom walks up and takes the action figure away, handing her a Barbie doll. The little girl cries. If it would have been her brother playing with the action figure, the mom would have been ok. For a while toys have been gender separated. Why is it that each gender has their own toys? Toys should not be gender separated, and all kids should be able to play with what they want.

I did not take an initial stand for this argument at the time mainly because I do not frequent box stores. The idea that toys are separated by brand I can understand. Adding colored backgrounds or signs over top specifying gender is a little over the top, but classifying a productive skill sets as a gendered toy is outrageous. Little boys and little girls should be encouraged by manufacturers to develop any skill that will enhance their ability to live. If a little boy wants to play with an easy bake oven one should be provided without a stigmatism attached. I am not a very good cook though I am a girl yet I enjoy building, two traditional gendered hobbies broken. With that said why would my son not want to learn more about cooking? I do not necessarily take a stand on one side of gender nor the other both genders are a necessity in society, I just want others to feel positive about their own likes and

The author is trying to educate her readers about the need of more gender mutual toys. She talks about how the toys for girls encourage them to be moms, beauty queens, and girly roles instead of encouraging them to be things that are considered only for boys. Chemistry sets for example are offered for both genders except for girls it's to make make up and for guys it's to make green slime. The author also says that more toys should be gender mutual and “girl” toys should be offered to boys and “boy toys should be offered to girls but in a more gender mutual approach.

Educators need to be aware of the messages which can be conveyed through gender specific toys. Children make sense of their world through play and as Linn outlines, educators need to question the messages with which children take away from being encouraged to play with Barbie and the future impact for girls with both their relationship with their future self and others (Linn, 2004, p. 68). This idea is reinforced by the National Union of Teachers, when they describe the associations girls can make in response to some of the popular toys aimed at girls, and specifically princess themed toys. These send the message that it is important to be slim and attractive which girls can mistakenly believe this will lead to social and economic success

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.

This is called gender socialization, which exaggerates sexual differences physically, experimentally, academically, and psychologically. Most parents are unaware that they play such a large role in creating a male or female child. But they are the first and one of the largest influences on their child. When parents have a female child she is viewed as sweet and gentle. The parents will even hold their daughter closer than they would a son. As they grow older boys are encouraged to explore while girls are kept closer to their parents. They are taught different approaches to many different problems in life. They may not realize it but through their interactions with their children they are encouraging their children to grow into a certain type of person based on their gender. The toys they are introduced to are even gender-based. Toys for males encourage them to develop such abilities of spatial perception, creativity, competition, aggression, and constructiveness. Toys for girls encouraged creativity, nurturance, and attractiveness. Children’s rooms and clothing are specific color: girls are pink and boys are blue. Girls often wear dresses and skirts that limit their physical activity. These types of influences at such an early age lay a foundation for the child’s personality. By the time they reach school age they already have a sense of being male or female. In school peers and teachers enforce these differences even further. (Lips, 1979,

The toy stores should not separate the toys because all the stores will have to spend there time and put them into there place, why do all the work?