Gender Specific Toy Aisles Summary

Children toys enforce gender stereotype by assigning traditional gender roles to toys through the color and play function.

     Few toys were aimed equally at both genders. Even board games, while intended for both sexes, usually seemed aimed more towards one gender or another. Both sections had a lot of gender- stereotypical toys. General ideas on girls’ and boys’ behaviors and interests were very prevalent in the toys intended for each gender. After really looking at the toys in both sections it is easy to understand why stereotypical ideas about both genders are so strong since these ideas are introduced at such a young

On Saturday, the tenth of September 2016 I went to Target at 5pm with my roommates. As I walk to the toy aisle I saw parent with their young children. The store was busy but not crowded their where about five to ten families at the toy section. The adults in the toy section with children or without where mostly female. Target had multiple aisles for children’s toys it was divided pretty evenly between girls and boy’s toys with one or two aisles for newborns.

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.

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?

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.

For years children’s toys have always been segregated, with it being overtly clear that the blue and more physical action type toys are marketed at a young male audience, while the pretty pink domestic style toys such as kitchens and babies are aimed at little girls. But has this always been the case? Are toy manufacturers stuck in less modern times when a man would go out and work and a women would keep the house respectable? Are children’s toys what’s holding us back from achieving complete gender equality? Through research, surveys, interviews and making my own observations in local retail stores this investigation looks at the prominence of gender differences and stereotypes in children’s toys and their marketing today and comparing that

They make fun toys like dumpster trucks or race cars for boys, and make brooms and dolls for girls. No one has really ever seen a broom for boys or a dumpster truck toy for girls. The article, “What the Research Says: Gender-Typed Toys” says that most of the exciting or competitive games are made for young boys. I believe this, but I also think girls want more of the exciting, competitive toys now than before. An example of this is the nerf guns. Nerf guns were usually bought by boys, but recently they have started selling nerf guns styled for girls, which I think was a good idea. I think my sister likes to play with them as much as I did. At least one toy manufacturer sells a nerf style crossbow from the Hunger Games movie specifically for

In the article “The War on Pink: GoldieBlox Toys Ignite Debate Over What’s Good For Girls”, written by Eliana Dockterman, Dockterman talks in depth about gender specific toys. Toys like baby dolls, Barbies, Bratz, etc, are all examples of toys that are made specifically for the female gender. Dockterman examines whether these toys have helped drive girls away from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects, while boys are still dominant in the STEM field. She also talks about whether gender neutral toys would help this large gap between boys and girls in STEM subjects. I believe toys are just toys, and I don’t think they determine what kind of career we become interested in as we grow older. With this being said, I believe that toys shouldn’t be segregated because not all girls are interested in “girl toys” and not all boys are interested in “boy toys”.

When you enter into a store, specifically, a toy store, you will find various toys for children. To assist parents in locating the correct toy for their son or daughter, marketing teams arrange toys on aisles that are gender specific. Girl toys are normally boxed in pink boxes and boy toys are boxed in blue or black boxes. This is accomplished to guide parents to the aisles to align with the gender of their child. Toys play a major part in the social, intellectual and emotional development of children. Consequently, parents use gendered specific toys help entertain their children. Additionally, they use toys to help mold a child’s sexuality. Playing with gender specific toys may seem harmless; however, I believe they subconsciously

American culture continues to reinforce gender stereotypes, especially when marketing to children by segregating toy and bedding sections into “boys” and “girls” sections. This segregation is detrimental to the way that children develop their view of gender roles and equality. In the article titled "Target Will Stop Labeling Toys for Boys or for Girls. Good," author Rebecca Hains examines the decision by Target to eliminate gender specific labels for their toy and bedding items (Hains). It is extraordinarily clear that eliminating gender specific labels on toys and bedding items will absolutely make an impact on what toys children choose to play with and in the way that they perceive gender. Target’s decision will impact toy choices and gender

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

I found the findings presented by Carol J. Auster and Claire S. Mansbach in their article titled The Gender Marketing of Toys: An Analysis of Color and Type of Toy on the Disney Store Website, interested, but not surprising. There is an apparent difference in available toys between boy and girls. What is interesting about their finding is how color of the toy is associated with gendered behaviors. Boys only toy typically are bold in color which relates to extraversion, loudness, and visibility among others. On the other hand, the girls only toys are mainly pastel in color which represent introversion, quietness, and delicate. The color of the toy does not just place girls and boys in a different category, it also encourages a type of behavior

Walk into a toy store, and you are likely to see toys specifically designed and marketed for boys or girls. With pink and blue color coding, and princess and superhero designs, marketers seem to be using more gender messaging to sell their toys than in earlier times they would have gender neutral toys like science kits and kitchen sets showing boys and girls playing together.

What influence did the toys you played with as a child have on the gender identity you have developed?