How Toys Play A Role On Gender Socialization

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

The store in which I completed my observation was Target. Target’s general layout made it easy to decipher the section designated for boys and the section designated for girls. While Target did not specifically label the aisles by gender, it was not difficult to decipher where the toys for each gender were located. The section designated for boys encompassed about three aisles consisting of various toys that would interest boys, while the section designated for girls encompassed three aisles as well. Target also consisted of about two aisles of gender-neutral toys. The kinds of toys offered for boys included guns, action figures, building sets, and cars. Types of toys offered for girls included dolls, stuffed animals, play kitchen sets, and

1. I did my research on toys at Target. What I discovered was that mostly all gender-neutral toys have to do with educational toys and toys for children whose mindset does not see that’s a girl or boy toy. All the gender-neutral toys were colorful, but mostly used green, blue, yellow, and red colors, thus making targeting boys and girls. What I found in the masculine toy section was that mostly all the toys were blue, black, or dark colors. Lots of toys promoted violence like the Nerf guns and Power Ranger toys with their swords and killing the bad guys. They also promoted sports balls and cars only in the boy section when girls can play with these as well. What I found interesting is that they had Jake and the Neverland Pirates toys and

Kids preferences are cultured. This means they learn which colors go with each gender. Their preference is not innate, therefore gender neutral toys will not amount to them if this preference is learned early.

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

We as a people should care about gender specific toys because play is an important part of a child’s life. Toys give children a sense of belonging, and help them to decide how they will behave, how they will dress, and how they will play with other kids. Each toy has a way of helping children to learn, whether it is by growing their muscle memory, teaching them special skills, or helping them to solve difficult problems. The problem isn’t the toys themselves but it is the division of the toys, between the girls section and the boys, the colors, and the misconception that boys and girls should only play with certain types of toys, and they must be distinct for both sexes. The boys and girls sections are divided by the

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

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

Walking down the aisles of toys I noticed that the boys and girls were separated and then there was an aisle with neutral toys. When I looked down one aisle is was bright pink and a shadow of purple, rather in the other aisle I noticed there were blue, red and black toys. Down the girls aisle there were mostly dolls and the boys had wrestlers and trucks. Reasons for me classifying the pink toys for the girls and blue toys were for boys is because I was brought up to think pink was for girls and blue was for boys. Not only by learning from my parents, but from television. Generally when I go shopping for a 6 year old birthday party I’m going to buy something that has to do with their passion of a television show on Disney or Nickelodeon. For an example, my niece is in love with Minnie Mouse. I would go to the girls section and get her a toy associated with Minnie Mouse.

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

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

Toys that weren’t specifically targeted at boys or girls, gender neutral toys, were on walls with white, green, or yellow backgrounds. On the white wall, there were board games; on the green wall, there were group toys like Play-doh and Aqua Sand; on the yellow walls, there were toys targeted at specific age groups. Other than the yellow-walled toys, which had their aisles right next to the toys for boys and girls, the neutral toys were found at the ends of each gender aisle (at the end of each boy or girl aisle, there was a wall of group toys and board games). The gender neutral toys didn’t have bright colors and the fonts and packaging were very ordinary. There was also a lack of people printed onto the covers and if there were people on

On Tuesday, October the fourth, I visited the department store, Target, at two o’clock in the afternoon. As I went to observe the kids’ clothing and toys sections, I immediately was presented with the topics we covered in class. Not only were the boy and girl clothing sections completely separate, but most of the toys were departmentalized into “girl toys” and “boy toys.” As I made my way up one aisle and down the next, I made note of what the various signs read. Some of the sign names in which I wrote down included: animatronic toys/companion dolls/art and craft toys, Disney dress up/Disney dolls/Disney princess/Disney Frozen, fashion doll/Barbie accessories/Barbie dolls, LEGO/building sets, character toys/activity toys/action figures, and science and discovery/action figures/radio control. Reviewing the list of presented sign labels, one can almost immediately begin assuming which aisles are supplied for which genders. As custom, the pink Barbie doll and Disney princess aisles were visibly operating as an attraction for small girls, while the LEGO building sets and superhero aisles were provided for small boys. In uniform with today’s stereotypes, the girls were provided with the dainty dolls, bedazzling kits, and different colored lip glosses, while the boys were provided with ready-to-fight action figures, remote controller race cars, and LEGO building kits. Along with the toy section, the clothes section equally met the stereotypical standards of today’s society. The