Gender Socializing Children Toys

     From early childhood, children are taught traits that are conceptualized as typically male and female normative patterns through toys. They don’t know it but sex dimorphism is actually happening while they are playing with their toys. Toys such as building sets, trucks, cars, sports equipment and war toys (guns and soldiers) are usually bought for and played with by young boys. What these boys don’t realize is

Making toys that are for all genders is something that many stores and toy companies are still trying to adapt to. Many toy manufacturers are promoting gender-biased toys.Merchandisers still do not understand that it’s not just girls who want a female character as a toy. There should be more toy companies that should try to make toys that are not specific to one gender because not every girl wants a barbie for a toy and not every boy wants a car as a toy to play with. More toy manufacturers should not promote gender-biased toys and make toys for every gender because many kids have different interests. In the article “Asleep at the switch? “Force Awakens” heroine missing from toy line” explores the idea that the new movie of “Star

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

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.

What did the toys received or played with during childhood do to reinforce or break those patterns of gender socialization? In my opinion if you are a boy, you played with trucks, action figures, toy weapons, or sports equipment. If you were a girl, you played dress-up, played with dolls, or pretend kitchen sets. As we grow, we learn how to behave from those around us. At a very early age, children are introduced to certain roles that are typically linked to their biological sex. The term gender role refers to society 's concept of how men and women are expected to act and how they should behave. These roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society. expects different attitudes and behaviors from boys and girls.

Toys. When you walk into any store you’ll find two seperate toy rows. A bright pink row filled with Barbies, My Little Pony, and Littlest Pet Shop. Princesses, stuffed animals, dresses and sparkles. The other section is cool blues with Nerf Guns, Legos, and Hotwheels. Action figures line the aisles. Two genders, separated like night and day. Why should we separate them? What do the “expected” toys for each gender say about gender roles and how our society silently enforces them?

Growing up, people can attest to the memory of them having gone to McDonald’s, ordering a happy meal, and received a special toy in their box. There were always two options for toys because they had a clear separation of the toy for boys or for girls. Even asking for a different gendered toy could be an issue at some

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

I really think it’s unnecessary I mean I don’t really think it matters what toy a boy a girl plays with they are all toys and both boy and girl will be exposed to both kinds of toy. If a girl wants to play with trucks she can if a boy wants to play with a Barbie doll that fine as well. I don’t think by making certain toys specifically for girls and boy changes anything. Doesn’t mean if a boy plays with a doll he will be more feminine. I do dislike it because I feel the toy industry in the way they market toy is just trying to shape a child and stereotyping what a child should play with which makes no sense to me because a toy is a toy. Toys are meant to be played with not to stereotype a child on what toys they should play with.

Stroll through the toy aisle in any store. Adjust your eyes to the colors, patterns, and themes associated with the products available in the “girl” and “boy” departments. These stereotypical standards of pink and blue are as strictly contrasting as black and white. The problems presented in the restrictions and societal ideals of modern day womanhood are not limited to those born female. The channels of femininity are structured to both provide identity for those with breasts, wearing bows, and Barbie dolls, but also as a contrast to the qualities associated with the opposite gender. Clothes, hair lengths, toys and games are superficial signs of gender identity, but are often readily accepted by children absorbing the lay of the land as it presented to them. If a young boy identifies himself as being a girl, playing with Barbie’s instead of trucks and trains is complex and not accepted. The young boy feels a sense of excitement a thrill that he can

I completely agree with you that young children often to not realize that toys are targeted for one gender or the other. I know that I never thought anything of playing with cars until I was older and I noticed the stark differences in marketing. I think that we all realize this at different ages. Some of us have it instilled at a very young age, while others may not realize it until they are older. While I knew that I was not a boy, and that there were differences between us, I did not think about them when I was a young child. I think it is interesting how different parents handle this. I know some parents are all about buying the biggest, pinkest, girliest items for a nursery when they find out they are having a baby girl. Whereas, others

The toy industry markets toys based on color, red,black and brown toys for boys.They also market pastel colors for girl toys such as pink and purple for barbie dolls. (Auster. C & Mansbach. C). This type of manipulation is removing children's freedom to have the toys of their selection. One of the largest producers of toys, Disney Stores market gender specific toys. However in other countries such as Stockholm they have a gender neutral policy. In their schools you won’t find designated areas for girls and boy toys, they are all jumbled together. (Leach.A)

Some people think that toys should be neutral and not gender specific. This is because they feel like gendered toys have a negative effect on their child. Because parents feel like an action figure with a gun or swords gives off the impression that the toy is aggressive, they feel like their child could give off the same actions. There are so many sides to this controversy. Some people say that if a child is held to their gender expectations, that the child will become pressured.Others believe that a boy should play with action figures, and girls should play with dolls because nothing was wrong with it now, so why is it a problem now? Parents do not like that the girls toys are subjected around cooking, raising children, and housework. They believe that the girls are too young to be raising a child or even pretending. When the cashier at Mcdonald's and they ask if the toy is for a boy or a girl, this really frustrates lots of parents. McDonald’s was holding true to its 2014 statements that employees would no longer specify gender regarding Happy Meal

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,

Walk down the toy aisle of any big box store during the holidays, and it will quickly become apparent that there are two distinct sections: the boy section and the girl section. The boy section is dominated by creative, activity and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) based toys like Legos and G.I. Joe and bikes and adventure gear. The girl section is almost entirely pink and stocked with items that promote maternal and wifely activities; baby dolls and kitchen items and miniature broom/dustpan sets. Children’s toys being segregated by gender are harmful to development in childhood and beyond. This establishes unfair gender roles and norms from the earliest developmental stages. It perpetuates the idea that males are supposed to be the builders and thinkers while females should cook, clean and make babies. This leaves little room for the belief that men can be nurturing and sensitive, or that women can also be powerful, physical or self-sufficient.