Walmart Gender Roles

​“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

Toys have proven to be a valuable symbol of childhood innocence across generations, regardless of gender. The color of toys were changed to create a link between the toy and the interest of a particular gender (i.e. pink for girls, blue for boys). In Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter, she expresses the claim that color associations for juvenile playthings have reversed since pre-twentieth century. During the course of two interviews, Orenstein's claims prove to be, for the most part, supported despite a large difference of age between my interviewees.

I decided to do the second assignment. As I walked in to Target's store isles that have toys and games section for young children I noticed right away the division of color's for sections marketed to different genders. The first isle I walked into was full of vivid in bright pink and purple colors. The isle had toys most likely marketed to girls, since some of the toys consisted of dolls, princesses, small purses, kitchens, and babies. It never caught my attention how it's the packaging for such toys are full of pink color and how they stand out to show the toy. In addition, it's evident that such isle was intended to be just for toys who girls would be interested in because of the abundance of the pink color and how it's packaging it showed

When observing people in Walmart, I discovered that when watching pairs or trios of people the person who carries the most power did change throughout the groups. In pairs where they seemed to be a couple, the power shifted when observing different couples. In some couples, the man appeared to have more power of the woman, I was not surprised by this because of relationship and gender roles. In one relationship, the man was pushing the cart and did pay for their items, so in my opinion because he was spending his money, (or maybe they had a shared bank account and he just used his card) he had showed more power in his role. This shows referent power because the couple have a connection that they value and in their relationship, they respect and trust each other which allows an understanding of who and when one of them has certain power over the other. In another couple, the woman showed more power, she was pushing the cart and telling him what they needed or what each of them wanted. The man still paid for this cartful as well, but it seemed as if he was just being kind and he let her have control in this instance at least. I think in this example, the woman was showing referent power, they were in a relationship because they like

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

The boys’ toys mostly all used gross motor skills. Like the dolls in the girls’ section, the boys have equally as many types of cars or other vehicles to choose from. The boys’ side consisted of mainly three categories all together – 1) action figures, 2) “role” toys (guns – “Cops and Robbers” or “Cowboys and Indians”; ax, helmet, and badge – fireman; and miniature tools for pretending to be a construction worker) 3) cars.

Girls and boys both grow up being socialized on what is normal and unusual for their gender. Toys are a prominent factor in this socialization, because they are typically presented for one gender and are unacceptable for the other. To assess how toys play a role in gender socialization, I made a trip to Toys “R” Us in College Station and was surprised by how the store was organized.

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

Growing up, many Americans ' childhood consisted of playing tag outside, having cooties, and experimenting with as many toys as possible. Hundreds of thousands of toys flood kid stores such as Toys R ' Us, Baby Depot, and KB toys. With imagination, kids are able to become doctors, presidents, and princesses during the contents of one day. Television shows such as Barney or Blues Clues encourage having such imagination, thus inspiring kids to want to become one of the many options stores can transform them into. Walking into a regular toy store, people generally do not dissect the sexism that lays within the aisles, however, when walking in specifically to compare and contrast boys and girls toys

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

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.”

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,

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