Essay on Gender Stereotypes and Toys

One of these old wives’ tales looks at the soon-to-be mother’s appearance during her pregnancy to decipher the gender of her baby. The tale claims that if the woman has the infamous “pregnancy glow”, they are having a boy. However, if they do not have the “glow”, they are having a girl. It is said that a female fetus steals the beauty of her mother, thereby making her look worse for wear during the pregnancy. Reciting this tale to an expecting mother can be damaging, especially if she is having a girl. Pregnant women have enough to worry about (i.e., prenatal care as well as their own health) without having to worry about their appearance as well.

Like Material culture, Nonmaterial culture has also contributed to gender identity. Nonmaterial Culture consist of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society. (Loera, 2017). When parents are expecting a boy, there is a high chance that some of his first cloths, blankets, and personal items will be blue. This is because the color blue is dominant and often associated with males in mainstream culture. There is also a preconceived notion that a little boy is raised to know that he should not cry, as there is belief it is a sign of weakness. The stereotype is that women will be more emotional.

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.

We have all experienced it. Whether it be a birthday party or a baby shower, we have all been exposed to it, even if we have not realized it. The next time you attend a baby shower, pay close attention to the decorations, specifically the balloons. Universally, a balloon stamped “It's a Boy!” will be blue, and correspondingly, a pink balloon will be labeled “It's a Girl!” This observation might seem trivial at first, but a close look shows that this pattern haunts every baby event.

Infant boys have blue and the girls will have pink. After the fetus is birthed, it is difficult for individuals to determine the gender of the baby without the exposure of the genitals. The most common thing for parents to do is to dress the infant in the respective colors so society will know whether it is a boy or a girl. These colors will eventually shape how they are viewed in society. As the children grow up, they begin to adjust their behavior to fit in with the gender norms and expectations.

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

When you walk into the toy section of any store, you do not need a sign to indicate which section is the girls’ side and which section is the boys’ side. Aside from all the pink, purple, and other pastel colors that fill the shelves on the girls’ side, the glitter sticks out a lot as well. The boys’ toys however are mostly dark colors – blue, black, red, gray, or dark green. The colors typically used on either side are very stereotypical in themselves.

Gender reveal parties have become a way to celebrate the arrival of a new child for parents. Guests adorned in pink or blue attire await as the excited parents reveal what the child is going to “be”. Depending on the color inside the cake or balloon, the child’s life is predetermined based on gender normative stereotypes. These will dictate on his or her name, the activities that he or she is allowed to partake in, and the opportunities available to the child. This socialization of gender expression has led to a dominant culture or public of cisnormativity. Warner talks about publics not in general like the concept of “the public”, but they are a multitude of publics that can only be reached through rhetorical texts (). This means that if

     Even before the children are born, parents begin choosing clothing and decorations by color based on the sex of the baby. The stereotype of pink, pastels, yellow and white for girls and bright or dark colors like green, blue and red for boys has long been a part of culture. How many times have you heard kids argue over toys because girls don’t want that icky boy color or the boys don’t want the gross girl color? This

Today it is seen as more socially acceptable for women to assume roles that are defined as traditionally masculine than it is for men to assume roles that are defined as feminine. In my opinion, this is based on stereotypical roles that have been placed by parents when babies are born – stemming from their own parent’s stereotypical and traditional roles that have been modeled and observed by them personally. For example, at a very young age, children notice whether their mother will stay at home or work and viscera what their father does. Another example, for the majority I would say that once a couple finds out their baby’s gender the nursery room tends to painted in such a way based on whether the baby is male or female. Including, toys

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,

This can happen from birth where gender influences how the boys and girls are handled. Even though it is stated it can happen from birth it is also been shown that it may happen before birth due to parents and grandparents picking out the colours of children’s items of clothing or toys, even the colours of rooms. It is expected after birth that girls will be gentle and sweet whereas boys will be rough. Sociologists refer to sex as a person’s biological identity where gender is referred to as the socially educated prospects and behaviours that are associated with being male or female. Sex is biologically appointed while gender is culturally learned.

Gendered toys impact children and their ability to grow and express themselves. Gendered toys reinforce stereotypes and limit children. According to Monica Brasted (2010) “Advertising may also influence how children develop and identify for themselves, relative to their own sex and gender, and how they come to expect certain behaviors from men and women” (“Care Bears vs. Transformers”). Gender toys can affect how they form relationships because they have preconceived ideas of how each gender should act. If they don't fit into the certain category, they can have problems identifying themselves and relating to others.

I think they should be able to put ads on tv about kids toys or other things kids wants or needs. First think about it what if you had a good business going on and you need to get your business things out world-wide. If you owned a business you wouldn’t want to stay in just one spot would you i think that would be boarding. Because if you stayed in one spot then everyone in that spot might buy it and then you won't be able to any business. But with the help of tv ads they can make their product go all around the world.

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.