Girls And Girls : Toys Are Best For Them By Color And Theme, Social And Parental Expectations

This paper will summarize the ERR articles from the bulleted topics and issues. This paper will also include summaries on toys that may encourage violence and aggression, toys that may promote pro-social behavior, gender stereotyping in toy selection, and cultural stereotyping or, lack of cultural awareness in toys.

​“girls’ toys were associated with physical attractiveness, nurturing, and ​domestic skill, whereas boys’ toys were

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

In the research done on “Sex Roles, Pink or Blue: Environmental Gender Stereotypes in the First Two Years of Life,” by Andree Pomerleau, Daniel Bolduc, Gerard Malcuit, and Louise Cossette at the University of Montreal stated that the physical environment of girls and boys will have an impact on the development of specific abilities and activities in children. In the research, three age groups were investigated and given types and colors of toys and have determined that boys prefer sports and large and small vehicles while girls had more dolls and fictional characters. The research proves that boys are more active and aggressive than girls. The research shows that as early as 18 months of age, children are already predisposed by sex stereotypes by their parents.

Craig’s worries about his son’s actions being more feminine as a result of playing with feminine toys is not uncommon. Many parents may become worried if they start seeing their child being more interested in playing with toys designed for the opposite gender. A hypothesis can be drawn up by stating that if boys with typically female toys, then there would be an increase of femininity traits of passiveness.

The colors and type of toys do depict sexism, although many children do not know or see this. In a 2017 academic journal, "The Effects of Implicit Gender Role Theories on Gender System Justification: Fixed Beliefs Strengthen Masculinity to Preserve the Status Quo", psychologist Laura Kray states, “To affecting attitudes about gender roles, implicit gender role theories might also influence self-perception, in line with the tendency to change

     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

According to cook and Cusack (2010), Gender stereotypes are concerned with social and cultural construction of man and women, due to their physical, biological, sexual and social functions, structured set of beliefs about the personal attributes of man and women. Childhood is a fundamental and significant period in forming an impression of an individual boy or girl, and man or women finally. Subsequent researchers Ania and Cameron(2011) hold an accordant opinion with Cook and Cusack(2010) that gender stereotyping is problematic only when it operates to ignore personal characteristics, abilities, needs, wishes, and circumstances (Cook & Cusack, 2010). In fact, during children’s learning process of gender stereotypes, most of them are under gigantic pressure of the society they belong to and formed a problematic view through normally ignored. One obvious phenomenon is about the toys. Toys are designed and retailed separately for boys and girls with different colours, styles and functions by toy manufacturers. When acquiring a toy, gender will normally be the first issue to consider instead of children’s inherent preferences. It will highly possible to limit children’s personal experiences and future development for both gender groups (Martin, Eisenbud & Rose, 1995). This article will analyse the role of toy manufacturers in gender development in order to decide whether they are responsible to

Toys play a major role in socializing young kinds into “appropriate” gender roles. The first obvious characteristic that separates toys for boys and toys for girls,

Multiple studies (e.g. Snow et al. 1983; Fagot 1978) have shown that when playing, children prefer using toys perceived as appropriate for their own sex, i.e. boys prefer playing with “male” toys, and girls prefer “female” toys. At first glance, this choice can be attributed to societal and cultural influences, yet there is evidence that playing with gender-typical toys is biologically determined. For example, Hines and Alexander (2002) found that when presented with a variety of “male”, “female” and “neutral” toys, male vervet monkeys spent more time playing with “male” toys, and female vervet monkeys spent more time playing with “female” toys. These are primates with no cultural definition of what toys are appropriate for males or females, or even an understanding of gender. It is therefore most probable that sex differences in toy choices are biologically based. In fact, they seem to stem from prenatal exposure to androgens, a phenomenon that has been well-documented in humans.

Banerjee and Lintern (2000) examined the salience of children’s preference for toys in private and public settings. Their findings indicate that younger children hold more rigid ideas of what kinds of toys their gender should be playing with, and that children would

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.

As children being to grow both mentally and physically around the age of three, the sense of who they are in relation to their gender becomes more prominent. By this time in development, children are starting to play with toys that are typically associated with their gender. The question is, do children start playing with gender specific toys because of the market’s influence or do children play with gender specific toys ultimately because those are the toys that match them most personality wise? By observing firsthand the distinction of toys by gender, I was able to reflect on the following: the reason why gender stereotypes are involved in the market, how stereotyping impacted my own development as well as other children, and how I might use what I learned from this observation with my own children in the future. On my journey through the toy aisles of Wal-Mart, I noticed that the items

Gender role is defined as the socially constructed and culturally specific behavior and appearance expectations imposed on women (femininity) and men (masculinity). Many girls are subjected to gender role stereotyping and different treatment Through socialization, individuals learn to behave in accordance with the expectations of others in the social order (Hult, 83.). Gender ideology is involved when one attaches a color such as pink and blue to sex and when one designates types of toys as male, female or neutral. Most play behavior is an outcome of gender role stereotyping that stems from cultural ideology. Early research provides that by first grade, boys recognize sports, whereas girls recognize grades

and the activities they encourage. In one study parents were asked to sort toys into masculine,