Toy Observation Paper

Envision yourself entering a toy department and noticing numerous diverse aisles. In one aisle, you encounter toys packaged in complementary and color triads colors that include building sets (such as “LEGO”, “LEGO Super Heroes”, and “Angry Birds”) and a wide selection of action figures—Spider Man, Transformers, The Dark Knight, Power Rangers, etc. In the next aisle, adjacent to the aisle with complementary and color triads colors, you find toys packaged in shades of pink and purple. These toys range from “Hello Kitty” dolls to “Barbie Dream” house play sets. Inside a toy department, such as Toys R Us, it is extremely difficult to retrieve a toy that is not marketed explicitly or subtly by gender. If toys were marketed only according to

“Raise boys and girls the same way,” a phrase originally said by neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, that urges parents as well as people to raise children without a heavy influence of gender stereotypes and let the child discover how they want to represent themselves. A large divide between little boys and girls is shown in the toy industry. The retail chain Target recognized the influence of the gender bias toys and the impact they have on children and parents and began neutralizing labels within the toy department. Toys should not be gender biased because gender stereotyping has wavered back and forth over the past fifty years. Gender-biased toys can have an impact on a child’s development, and the unnecessary labeling of toys has sparked a cultural shift in society.

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

When it comes to the social construction of gender, the way toy stores advertise their product play a huge role in the contribution. Sitting on the floor looking at the Walmart toy selection, I noticed a few things that I never really paid close attention to before. First, when did the colors pink and blue become a tool used as a gender binary? Second, why does it seem to be a pattern of the professions that the toy emulate in regards to each gender? Third, what does this all mean?

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.

I remember getting excited when I received a toy doll that came with diapers and accessories to care for when I turned 4. I was the only child at the time but somehow I knew how to care for the inanimate object, maybe from TV shows or from seeing how the women around me cared for their child. The toy section was almost like the equivalent to heaven for kids, walking down the girls’ toy section I was surrounded by toys imitating kitchen objects, there were many versions of baby dolls and the color pink flooded the isle, whether it were pink dresses or the pink vacuum cleaner. On the other side of the isle I saw soccer balls, Lego blocks and toy cars targeted for boys. Growing up, I realized the toy industry that targets the stereotypes of a gender was a sample of the gender roles that are expected to be followed in some cultures; and clearly the representation of a woman is one that does domestic work and has concern over their appearance.

In a store typically dolls and easy bake ovens, as well as dress up toys can be found in the ‘girls’ toy section. Whereas in the boy’s toy section you can find Legos and super hero action figures in this section. Symbolizing that boys should be making things to support their job as the “bread-winner” with Legos in families. Boys toys demonstrate how boys should look up to masculine, strong, powerful men through super hero action figures. This states that they should be perilous to pain, emotional and physical, supporting the “toughen up” outlook. These action figures also give boys unrealistic views on their bodies, that they should be muscular and broad in order to be seen as a man. Contrasting this, girls are given easy bake ovens in order

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,

For my field research project, I went to Toys “R” Us located next to La Fitness on La Cienega. The purpose of Toys“R”Us, Inc. is to make its customers happy, which are mostly kids. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the check out to my left side along with many colorful aisles facing in front of me. The store walls are painted bright orange with a white ceiling. In my opinion the orange color signifies gender neutral. There were two cashiers, one male ask one female. I noticed that the female cashier mostly checked out “feminine toys” and the male cashier checked out “masculine toys.”

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

Have you ever wonder how toys were characterized in department stores? When you think of a toy store, you think about Toys “R” Us, Books-A-Million, Full Moon Games or Five and Below. I never went to a store to figure out the true meaning on what toys truly belongs to a gender. Toys generally became gendered when they’re broadcasted on television. For this particular project, I choose to go to Walmart. Walmart has a variety of everything.Walmart has four aisles with just toys. In class we had a discussion on how did television affect children. As a child, I asked for toys that were most popular. After visiting the store and actually paying attention to how toys are broadcasted by the gender I noticed that most of the toys were represented

This essay aims to explore why there are gender differences within children’s toys. Focusing on what the differences are, in relation to function and advertising, depending on the gender that they are marketed for. Discovering how these differences have occurred historically and what the impact of having gender biased toys has on children and therefore society will also be explored. In addition to the research analysis, observations were also made of toys at local stores.

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.

Going into different stores, one can easily pick up on the major gender roles each store supports. Even the morals of an innocent toy store, such as KB Toys, is tainted by the gender-differentiating dolls for girls, and trucks for boys. Upon entering the store you can tell right away which aisles attract which kids. To the left there is pink fluffy bears, pink Barbie and friends toys, white teddy bears etc. To the right there is a less vibrant color setting, coordinating army green, black, and gray color schemes. I think it is apparent to anyone who enters these stores that the pink pretty isles are meant to attract little girls, and the dark green and gray isles are meant to attract boys. Upon the packages of toy trucks and guns, there are pictures of young boys playing with them and/or cartoon male figures controlling them. On the packaging of Barbie and her friends there are also other girls on the packaging. I was unable to pick up on a single female on the package of any toy truck or gun throughout the entire store. The

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