Masculinity In Toys

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To begin with, there are several assumptions about masculinity that are associated with toys for young boys. One assumption is that men have to wear clothing that displays their bulging muscles as well as toned abs. When little boys play with action figures, they subconsciously began to believe that they need muscles and super-human strength in order to be viewed as men. Furthermore, an action figure may display an expression where it looks mean and doesn’t show any emotion whatsoever. A child will think that it is a sign of weakness to smile or show any form of emotion. Moreover, another assumption associated with action figures is dominance and aggression. For instance, the terminator action figure may convey that a young boy has to be aggressive in order to be respected or …show more content…

For example, a new action figure based on the television character “Heisenberg” from “Breaking Bad” received horrible reviews from parents. This toy comes with a Heisenberg action figure, a small brief case filled with money, and a small bag of cocaine. Heisenberg is a drug dealer that has power and more money than he could ever count in his lifetime. Furthermore, many people will do almost anything to sell or obtain drugs. So unfortunately many people were killed or harmed in order to make sure that money keeps coming past the Mexican border in the show (Gilligan, 2008). As previously stated, one can only imagine what this action figure is portraying to young boys. It is a clear sign that it is okay to sell drugs or harm others to achieve goals in life. A young boy who is still susceptible and learning what is happening around him, may believe that in order to become a powerful figure he has to sell drugs and risk his life in order to be viewed as a man. Toys are conveying terrible assumptions that are mainly for adults however, they want to appeal to children so that parents will purchase these

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