Children Should Play With Toys They Like
Have you ever wanted to buy a toy, but were pressured not to do so? Many girls and boys are discouraged from playing with gender-biased toys specifically because of their sex. “Why do Boys and Girls Prefer Different Toys,” by Satoshi Kanazawa, states that boys and girls are told to play with different types of toys by their parents, peers, and society in general. This fact is troubling - children should be encouraged to buy toys that they like, and not be told which kinds of toys they should play with because of their gender. One way that toy manufacturers have encouraged the purchase of toys by one gender is by limiting the number of toys produced, such as the Star Wars character Rey-themed toys. The article “Asleep at the switch? “Force Awakens” heroine missing from toy line,” published by the Associated Press, explores the anger of Star Wars fans at the shortage of Rey toys in stores.
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Both female and male Star Wars fans have lashed out on social media with a large number of complaints because they cannot find Rey toys in stores. Stores experienced a shortage of Rey toys in part because Disney toy manufacturers did not anticipate such a high demand for traditionally female Rey-themed toys by both girls and boys. In Star Wars editions of the “Monopoly” game, the character Rey was notably missing. One 8-year-old girl wrote to Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly, to complain that “girls
I am not saying that a Barbi doll is necessarily a bad thing, besides the fact that some of her outfits are frightening, but I would rather have the life like rocket that can fly a 100 feet up before it returns to the ground. This discussion might appear superficial at first, but there is an underlying problem to why a parent might want to encourage their young daughters to play with a science kit instead of deciding what evening gown Barbi looks best in. A lot of the toys designed for boys might also be used as a learning tool. When a boy plays with legos and starts to create buildings he is developing his creativity. This act could lead him into a career as an architect or engineer. When he is encouraged to play with rockets or a microscope he has the potential of developing an interest in science that could lead him into a career working on satellites.
That is, boys will customarily receive blue clothing or toys while pink clothing or toys will be for girls. “Children‘s toys and games are also differentiated on the basis of sex” (Diekman and Murnen 2004; Seccombe p.99). Through these toys or playing with these toys, boys and girls would eventually distinguish the differences between male and female; also, may strengthen, and perpetuate the traditional gender stereotypes. For instance, boys or men are expected to act and behave in ways that have been considered masculine or associated with masculinity (Seccombe p.104); “men are often assumed to be more aggressive, sexual, unemotional, rational, and task oriented than women” (Seccombe p.93); and thus, action figures, such as Superman, WWE wrestling toys, and Hulk are made for boys to play with. While girls or women’s roles are associated with femininity (Seccombe p.104); “women are assumed to be more nurturing, passive, and dependent” (Seccombe p.93); and so, cooking and baking set and baby dolls with bottle feeding and diapering set are made for girls, so, they could apply their nurturing and culinary skills when they get older and mainly do household chores. Personally, I believe these toys have both negative and positive influence on children’s socialization. For instance, playing with toy guns or military toy set with a knife may lead to early exposure to violence and aggression. However, some toys, such as Lego building set and blocks, arts and crafts have a powerful and influential influence on children’s thinking and
One of the most heavily debated subjects today in the United States is guns. Over the last few years, mass shootings and spree shootings have been covered widely in the media. It leaves many Americans wondering how we can just sit by and let this happen. However, this is no easy task to attempt to solve or something that will just go away overnight. Taking away the guns won 't solve anything or just fix the problem as a whole. The United States constitution not only protects, but guarantees the right to bear arms as an American citizen. Why should we let the acts of a few sick and mentally ill ruin the right for the rest of law abiding citizens. The focus should center more around tougher background checks and mental health. Many Americans,
In the article The gender Marketing of toys: An Analysis of Color and Type of Toy on the Disney Store Website, Auster and Mansbach conducted research to examine the gender marketing of toys on the internet. They looked at what characteristics of “boys and girls” toys share, such as color of toy, type of toy, and witch toys were labeled for girls and boys. The pre - research of this study suggested that children are making gender distinctions of themselves and their group based on the types of toys that are bought for them. Bright and darker colors are meant as a distinction for “boy” toys, while pastel colors are meant for “girl” toys. The previous research also suggested that toys for boys and girls express traditional gender roles and that gender neutral toys are more likely to
From this research of examining how gender socialization is projection through toys to children, have led to conclusion that in order to prevent children from living by these stereotypes portrayed through toys, parents should encourage gender-neutral and cross-gender play in children at an early age. Just for the mere that their brain is so receptive to knowledge into creating to become the person they are to be in life. Give children a chance to not only have fun while playing with their toys and that there aren’t any pressures on them that this what they should be and that there a mind full options that they can choose from.
Hasbro faces a significant threat from counterfeits of its products. As the market for toys and games is increasing globally, the parallel market for counterfeit toys is also on the rise. Such activity rises especially during the festive months when toy sales are expected to be high. Counterfeits pose a threat to the toys and games market, not just in terms of lost business and brand dilution, but also by selling products that can be potentially dangerous to children of all ages. Low quality counterfeits reduce consumer confidence in branded products like Hasbro. Counterfeits not only deprive revenues for the company but also dilute its brand image.
A boy will not attain a muscular body if he picks up a Barbie doll and a girl will certainly grow chest hair if she plays with an action figurine. As ludicrous as this sounds, this is how our society thinks nowadays with children and their acceptable playtime behavior. But who made the decision that Girls can only play with dolls and boys can only play with trucks? Just as Barthes says in “Toys”, “All the toys one commonly sees are essentially microsomal objects of the adult world” (53). In the other words, toys are symbolisms of us humans. A majority of the boys are obsessed with superheroes and cars, which stand for power and speed.
As a child, our toys were not exactly as gender neutral as earlier times, but also were not as gender stereotypic as the toys in today’s time. The fact that everyone eventually comes into contact with buying toys whether you have kids or you have a friend or family member who have kids which makes this an important topic. Eventually, everyone has to buy a child a present. Would it bother you that all toys are either pink or blue and there is no in between? Or does sticking to what your child is already familiar with and knows the more ideal option when it comes to gender stereotyping with children’s toys? Authors James Delingpole and Eleanor Muffitt both do a good job at arguing both sides to this issue. Although both authors provide valid points throughout each article, about gender stereotyping with toys, James Delingpole clearly was more effective in persuading the audience because he used all three elements; ethos, logos, and pathos to support his idea.
Quotes such as “may the force be with you” became commonplace and Star Wars helped link the Boomer generation with their Gen X children. The popularity of Star Wars was further amplified by the popular action figures that began selling shortly after it was clear Star Wars was a huge success. No one will ever know why Star Wars captured the hearts of so many fans, but one could certainly point to the toys when asking why this franchise became a defining part of many people’s lives. Never before could children gain the superpowers of their heroes like they did by wielding plastic lightsabers, and never before had a movie put such an emphasis on young heroes prevailing against such insurmountable odds. The whole theme
The toy industry makes it seem acceptable that only certain toys are suitable for one or the other gender by marketing them as such. For a parent to differ, it would mean stepping out of the box, possibly alienating their child from others with a choice that might seem odd. Rather than making their child feel or appear awkward, parents continue to support the gender biases found in toys, thereby promoting gender socialization. It is important however, that parents, as role models and consumers, must be diligent in their choices and make decisions that will help either negate or balance out gender biases in
It has a huge impact on popular culture that people feel obligated to go see the films. Star Wars movies are shown and promoted nearly worldwide. In addition, Star Wars is one of the first films to have the most successful merchandise franchise. “These movies began building buzz long before they opened and commanded coverage in magazines and the emerging genre of infotainment television” (Bordwell and Thompson 683), basically Star Wars is a mega picture. It is everywhere and all over people’s faces, for example Episode VII has been promoted in the past year all over the world. The movie tickets in many theaters have sold out because people feel obligated to see it. On the other hand, films in the 1890’s did not have the type of promotion Star Wars has received, but a lot of people went to see the short silent films. Due to a few reasons: for entertainment, escape reality, popular culture, and going out to the movie theater to watch a film was a social norm at the time. When it came to merchandise, Disney was doing it for years, but merchandise did not make a huge impact until Star Wars. As a result, Star Wars changed and inspired new promotion and money-making strategies for all the Hollywood
Finding the perfect toy, to teach your child the right way of life can be difficult, this is why companies have created gender specific toys. Although, these toys only create more problems against gender equality, while leaving parents worried when their child leans towards a toy that doesn’t necessarily agree with the majority of their gender. This is shown when little boys are playing towards dollhouses, instead of Hot Wheels® or little girls dressing up as a superheroes, The Avengers, instead of Disney
The characteristics of gender are noticeable for children as young as two, and it has become even more noticeable through the toys that they play with. Throughout history, toys have slowly transformed into gender base and stereotypical toys. While conducting research, it appeared that toys began to segregate slowly in the 40s and continued to divide the genders of boys and girls into the new millennium. Parents and their behavior as well as their actions have become a model that toy companies have been wrongfully using to make toys and advertise towards children. Boys and girls are being confined to toys based on their gender.
Allying gender roles with toys is actually a lot more insidious than most people give it credit for. Especially since what parents could actually do to reduce its effect is not as deep as one might think. The urge to buy a particular toy does not just come from advertising or marketing or even just what the parents buy for their kids, it comes from the selection or taste in toys of a child's peers as well. It creates the notion in the generation of children being marketed to that some things are meant just for boys and vice versa and that if you are a boy who likes a toy being marketed to girls, you are basically acting like one. After all they are still a little too young to understand that the advertisers just want to grow the sales of the
Everyone of my generation should play the game Star Wars Battlefront 2. This game allows players to dive into the Star Wars universe by allowing players to experience the game through several different ways. It also includes all the unique environments of the Star Wars movies. The ability to become part of the massive Star Wars universe is definitely one of the eye catching aspects of this game.