Goldieblox On Gender Stereotypes

321 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender stereotyping in toys

When I was a little girl, the majority of the toys I played with were dolls and Barbies, but imagine if girls were exposed to a larger assortment of toys at a young age. How would our view on gender stereotypes be different? GoldieBlox published a video in November of 2014 that advertises their children’s toy while fighting stereotypes. GoldieBlox’s purpose is to persuade people to purchase their toy. In addition, this company is motivated to inform girls that they don’t have to act on cliché gender stereotypes.
In advertisements, corporations manipulate consumers’ emotions by using skillful techniques that may persuade the viewer to make a purchase. One technique that GoldieBlox uses to influence viewers’ emotions is the upbeat music played

Show More
Related

  • Gender Stereotypes Among Children's Toys

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender Stereotypes Among Children's Toys When you walk into the toy section of any store, you do not need a sign to indicate which section is on the girls’ side and which section is on 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.

    Read More

  • Weetabix Rhetorical Analysis

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    The question often is what makes a good advertisement? The answer is simple, it should be able to grab the attention of the targeted audience, and even better it should be able to make the targeted audience fall in love with the advertisement so that they can be persuaded to achieve the desired results. Of all the forms of advertisement, TV commercials always are the best considered effective way to pass the message to the targets. I believe that the combination of audio-visual effects can engrave the commercial into the hearts and minds of the viewers and that is why I have chosen to analyse a TV commercial by Weetabix: Weetabix Chocolate Dubstep Cereal Commercial.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotype: Gender in The Toy Store

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to fully comprehend the how gender stereotypes perpetuate children’s toys, one must understand gender socialization. According to Santrock, the term gender refers to the, “characteristics of people as males and females” (p.163). An individual is certainly not brought into the world with pre-existing knowledge of the world. However, what is certain is the belief that the individual has regarding him- or herself and life stems from socialization—the development of gender through social mechanisms. For instance, when a baby is brought into this world, his or her first encounter to gender socialization arises when the nurse places a blue or pink cap on the baby’s head. This act symbolizes the gender of the baby, whether it is a boy (blue cap) or a girl (pink cap). At the age of four, the child becomes acquai...

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Jean Piaget's Stages Of Cognitive Development

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Francis’s study analyzes three to five-year-old preschool students as well as their parents about their views about toys and viewing materials based on gender. The study showed that parental beliefs shaped their child 's opinions of gender roles based on the toys they played with. The parent 's idea of what is female and what is male is transferred onto the toys their child plays with which in terms developed their child 's stereotype of what is male and female based on their toy selection and color. In the article “How do today 's children play and with which toys?”, by Klemenovic reference that a child 's view on gender stereotypes is developed by their parents who train them on how to use the toys. Klemenovic (2014) states "Adults start training in the first months of a child 's life because knowledge of objects is the outcome of other people 's behavior towards us" (Klemenovic, 2014, p. 184). Young children’s development of gender stereotypes is largely influenced by his or her parent’s actions and view on what they consider male or female. A parent’s color preference and toy selection can influence a child’s gender bias or association to a specific

    Read More

  • Disney and Gender Identity

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    Society cements certain roles for children based on gender, and these roles, recognized during infancy with the assistance of consumerism, rarely allow for openness of definition. A study conducted by Witt (1997) observed that parents often expect certain behaviors based on gender as soon as twenty-four hours after the birth of a child. The gender socialization of infants appears most noticeably by the age of eighteen months, when children display sex-stereotyped toy preferences (Caldera, Huston, & O’Brian 1989). This socialization proves extremely influential on later notions and conceptions of gender. Children understand gender in very simple ways, one way being the notion of gender permanence—if one is born a girl or a boy, they will stay that way for life (Kohlberg 1966). “According to theories of gender constancy, until they’re about 6 or 7, children don’t realize that the sex they were born with is immutable” (Orenstein 2006). The Walt Disney Corporation creates childhood for children worldwide. “Because Disney are such a large media corporation and their products are so ubiquitous and wide spread globally, Disney’s stories, the stories that Disney tell, will be the stories that will form and help form a child’s imaginary world, all over the world, and that’s an incredible amount of power, enormous amount of power” (Sun). Because of the portrayal of women in Disney films, specifically the Disney Princess films, associations of homemaker, innocence, and dependence are emphasized as feminine qualities for young children. Thus, children begin to consider such qualities normal and proceed to form conceptions of gender identity based off of the movies that portray the very specific and limiting views of women (...

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Roles In Toys R Us

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    I noticed that as the age group goes up the more complex the toys get. For example, toys from age 1-3 seemed to have more of a learning, and sometimes nurturing aspect about them. Which makes sense because of Piaget’s theory of the sensorimotor stage implies that they are at the beginning of thoughts. While ages four to seven became more independent toys where they want to do “grown up things” like cooking, shopping carts and more mature dolls for girls. The boy toys became a little more aggressive like wrestling dolls, monster trucks, and super heroes. As the ages increased to twelve plus the toys became more interactive, intense and surfacing separating gender identification even more. Meaning that the stereotypes of boys and girls became more coherent. The boys isle had boxing gloves, footballs, and violent video games. Which could imply to adolescent girls that basketball or football is not a sport for them. For girls all of the toys stayed cohesive to a domestic lifestyle. I could convey that by what the children gravitated to in the store. Toys have a huge impact on children when it comes to gender simply because of the way toys appeal to them. If a young boy sees a blue toy he automatically suspects that is for his gender only and so forth. Parents also take a role in toy gender identification by implying to a girl that she shouldn’t have the basketball or etc. because she is girl and parents feels as though she should have girl

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Toys

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the course of history, toys have played a fundamental role in entertaining and stimulating the minds of children. From inflated pig’s bladders and knucklebones in the ancient times to ‘Nerf guns’ and ‘Barbie’ dolls in the present day, their purpose is to encourage imagination and impart values through play. However, since the 1970’s, the seeds of gender discrimination were planted when toy companies started segregating their products based on social stereotypes. Upon walking into a local Toys ‘R’ Us store, one can distinguish the division of toys meant for boys and toys meant for girls based on the colours blue and pink and their contents. But on September 4 2013, Toys ‘R’ Us stores in the U.K. had announced that they would be neutralizing their gender based marketing. If a major toy retailer such as Toys ‘R’ Us, had publicly announced their effort to gender neutralize their stores, it further supports that this is a real issue as even a multi-billion dollar company supports the notion. However, this issue is still rampant in the world as most toy manufacturing companies are unwilling to produce gender neutral products due to the fear of losing revenue. Chris Bryne, content director for timetoplaymag.com said that the toy industry will perpetually mirror the culture (of society), and reflect it back in their products. (INSERT MLA http://bigstory.ap.org/article/some-parents-struggle-find-gender-neutral-toys) Therefore, the cycle of manufacturing toys that impart stereotypical gender roles will not end, until the general public demands for them. By encouraging the cycle to continue, it’s far reaching effects are allowed to persist – reinforcing stereotypical gender roles through toys fuels the problem of gender opressio...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles and Stereotypes Explored in Judy Mann's The Difference and Bernard Lefkowitz's Our Guys

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gender stereotypes are common in the United States today, even though many men and women have been working hard to defeat it. The task is made difficult however, when society in general implants the idea of gender roles into the mind of a child. Two authors, Judy Mann of The Difference and Bernard Lefkowitz of Our Guys face the issue of gender roles and stereotypes, and how they affect our lives today.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Walmart Supercenter At The Walmart Store

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    I will not impose “gender specific” toys on them or tell them that it is not acceptable for a boy to play with a baby doll or tell my future daughter that it is not allowed for her to pretend sword fight. My children will be able to decide what they like and what they do not like and I will not allow anyone to decide that for them. This assignment has definitely opened my eyes to the market that is out there stereotyping children without much notice. Taking time to actually look into what is being done with toys and society with children has broadened my understanding and awareness of the impending problem that children are being faced with. I hope that one day we will see an end to gender stereotyping so that my future children will not be forced to feel out of place if they do not identify with a specific feeling or emotion that a boy should have or a girl should have. It sickens me and breaks my heart that things so minuscule such as toys can have such a negative effect on lives, especially on such a young children. This ideology of gender segregation should not be supported or further produced because it is harmful to the children that are directly or indirectly being affected by

    Read More

  • Have We Made Progress? Disney Films through the Decades

    2152 Words  | 5 Pages

    Is there a difference between a Carl’s Jr. Hamburger commercial featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton and a Disney movie? Many would argue “Well, of course there is a difference!” Those looking through the lenses of feminism would see that both are highly sexualized and send a negative message to children. They teach young girls that they are only valued for what their beauty sells. In this age of technology, children are spending more and more time in front of their television. Whether it is an episode of an edgy situation comedy like Two and a Half Men or a serious, heart-to-heart episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, there is a very high chance that a child is learning about their gender role and what that entails. The trend of damaging stereotypical portrayal of women in animated films has not lessened and perpetuates poor role models for children.

    Read More

  • Barbara Millicent Roberts: Barbie

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    We may know the most controversial piece of molded plastic formed into the shape of an out of proportion woman with blonde hair. Her name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, or as we know her, Barbie. With her odd portrayal of a woman, many believe that Barbie should be banned for suggesting to young girls that a woman only has one image to strive for. But Barbie is no more than a “piece of plastic” molded into something that looks nothing like a woman at all; she is a simply innocent child’s toy that should never be used as a tool for feminists. The Barbie controversy started in 1959 when she was introduced to a toy fair in New York after becoming popular overseas. The controversies went from her being too lewd to being too thin, both reasons supposedly encouraging unacceptable thoughts in the minds of young girls. Although many believe that this toy is harmful, we need to see that Barbie is just an innocent toy that promotes positive imagination of future careers and self-image in our young generation of females.

    Read More

  • Kids Toys and Socialization

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Toy stores are perfect places for a sociologist to use their sociological imagination. Gendering and racism is thought to be something that is socially constructed as opposed to biologically constructed. Gendering starts during infancy, and around 2 years old children start to internalize these gender differences. I argue that children’s toys help socialize children into gender specific roles. Toy stores, like Target and Toys R Us help us understand what types of toys help to gender children. I will explain how the toys in the toy aisles differ and compare. Not all toys are either male or female, some toys are gender neutral.

    Read More

  • Barbed Wire: The Danger of Playing with Dolls

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the early nineteenth century, when the entertainment industry started to progress rapidly, there have been many toys, video games, and television shows that have had many negative effects on young children. One example of this troubling trend is the Barbie Doll. Barbie Dolls, a seemingly innocent plastic figurine, have in fact had a negative effect on young girls’ perception of themselves, their self-image, and self esteem, causing many problems for them including immodesty, eating disorders and teenage pregnancy. Children spend so much of their time playing with these dolls and they negatively affect how they view themselves. These negative effects are not merely suspected, but have been proven through years of research.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotyping Of Children

    2804 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the late 1980’s McDonald’s introduced a new lineup of toys in their Happy Meal promotions, now offering exclusively Barbie and Hot Wheels as toy options. They were a huge hit, making Happy Meals more popular than ever. “Is this for a boy or girl?” was added to the list of questions you were asked when ordering. This was one of the beginnings of a new form of marketing that specifically gendered toys and stereotyped interests for each gender (Faust N. Pag.). Advertisements and marketing are not the only influences in perpetuating gender stereotypes. There are numerous influences on the youth of America that aid in the stereotyping of personalities and interests for boys and girls.

    Read More

  • Cultural Criticism: Barbie

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc., encourages an unrealistic body image, racial insensitivity, and contradictive goals, and it is having a negative influence on young girls everywhere. Launched in March 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American business woman and president of Mattel, Inc., Barbie quickly became popular and has gone on to sell three dolls every second, in over one hundred and fifty countries. However, Barbie’s rise to success has not been wholly positive – there have been numerous controversies, parodies, and lawsuits, all addressing a number of issues. One such issue is how Barbie promotes an unrealistic and unobtainable body image. For example, to scale, Barbie is five feet, nine inches tall, has a thirty six inch chest, eighteen inch waist, and thirty three inch hips. Had Barbie been a real person, she would not be able to walk, much less hold her head up. Secondly, Barbie is racially insensitive and perpetuates stereotypes. “Mexico Barbie,” from Barbie’s “ethnic” line, comes with a passport and a Chihuahua, as well as stereotypical red lace ribbons in her hair. Lastly, Barbie portrays goals that are both unobtainable and contradictive. Barbie has had a variety of careers, such as being a doctor, astronaut, and President of the United States, but also engages in stereotypical domestic activities, such as cleaning and baking. These characteristics are affecting young girls in a time when they are most developmentally susceptible, and teaching them a number of negative lessons.

    Read More

More about Goldieblox On Gender Stereotypes

Open Document