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Gender stereotypes and children toys
Gender stereotypes and children toys
Gender stereotypes and children toys
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Pink is a girl color and blue is a boy color, I'm quite sure we all have heard of this stereotypical and cliché statement before. I want you all to imagine standing in front of public restrooms. Imagine only to encounter that the female and male toilet doors have no indication to which is assigned to which gender. However, you do notice that one toilet door is pink and as you have probably guessed it, the other is blue. Now you being a female, which one would you enter? I think the answer is clear here. Even though there’s no words on the doors, the color-coding is enough to tell us which one we should enter.
It’s interesting to see what makes us think that the pink color is an indication of femininity and delicacy while the blue color denotes
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During the 19th century, all babies and toddlers, regardless of sex were typically dressed in almost identical unisex all white clothing because pink and blue were not considered gender specific colors and were used interchangeably .It wasn’t until the late 1800s, that pink and blue started to be associated with sex, but there was still little agreement as to which symbolized which gender. It is interesting to note that pink and blue denoted different meanings than to what they do now. Blue was the color for girls as it was very delicate and dainty and pink which was seen as stronger and more assertive, was for boys. However this idea gradually changed over time. So with all this, how can we let society play with our perception of colors and lead us to judge or stereotype people due to the color which they like or prefer to clothe in? Where in fact not even society has had a clear idea of which color represents which gender. Therefore, any sensible person would think that it’s completely absurd to be wanting to follow this illogical concept, which hasn't even been around for a century. This was also during the time when manufacturers saw that there was more money to be made in producing sex specific clothing. For example if parents had a girl and then a boy they couldn't hand down the first child’s clothing to the second and would have to …show more content…
One very discrete example, which demonstrates the power of pink and blue in defining the genders of children, is toys. Research by Elizabeth Sweet, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, has supported the belief that gender stereotyping of toys is getting worse over time. Writing in the New York Times last year, she said: ''We've made great strides toward gender equity over the past 50 years, but the world of toys looks a lot more like 1952 than 2012. 'During my research into the role of gender in Sears’s catalogue toy advertisements over the 20th century, I found that in 1975, very few toys were explicitly marketed according to gender, and nearly 70 percent showed no markings of gender whatsoever. ‘But by 1995, the gendered advertising of toys had crept back to mid-century levels, and it’s even more extreme today.'' In fact, finding a toy that is not marketed either explicitly or subtly for a specific gender, through the use of color has become incredibly
The start of change in children’s clothing started back in the late 18th century during the romantic period. People wanted to have the idea that children are a separate marvelous, terribly fragile, and innocent kind of creature that wants to have all the freedom and liberty that they can. As the Victorian age started there was a more structural way of everyone’s apparel. “It was very important that the girls wore short dresses and the ladies wore long dresses.” Many girls always had their hair down and then would put it up as their dress got longer and they got older. The idea was to start to dress young girls to look “innocent”. As the 21st century started girls started to dress like women and women started to dress like little girls. George writes, “A girl is a women by the time she’s 8 and a women remains a girl until she’s 80.” The idea was that
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...
“You can’t wear that, pink is a girl color, and you’re a boy.” As rude as it sounds, it’s just what these innocent little girls
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
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.
The socialization of children is greatly affected by the toys they are exposed to while growing up. Looking through magazines and walking down the aisles of toy stores it is clear that toy companies are supportive of cultural gender roles biases. Toys designed for girls are commonly found in pink boxes; typically these toys involve housework or taking care of children, for example, dolls and easy bake ovens. On the other hand, “boy” toys are found in blue and black boxes, and a lot of them involve construction and cars.
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.
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
The society that we live in today has more parents who are open-minded and understand that different toys benefit different aspects of a child’s learning. The world we live in is not perfect though, a parent might be a little hesitant to give a boy a doll to play with. Changing the color of the box or making the doll a boy would not affect this parents decision on letting their child play with the doll. If a parent does not want their child to play with a certain toy based on traditional gender roles, then that parent is closed minded and the changing of how toys are marketed will not affect their decision. Children will find a way to get that specific toy anyway, whether it be from a sibling or a
Gender Socialization plays a big part in a child’s life in shaping their femininty and masculinity. Every child is brought with to have played with at least one toy to have called their own. Now, the purpose of the research that has been conducted is to take a further look into how toys that is sold through stores and played by children. This will then give hindsight as to how what is considered the gender norm has a part in gender role stereotyping and the affect these toys have on children view of gender characteristics.
Even before the children are born, parents begin choosing clothing and decorations by color based on the sex of the baby. The stereotype of pink, pastels, yellow and white for girls and bright or dark colors like green, blue and red for boys has long been a part of our culture. How many times have you heard kids argue over toys because the girls don’t want the icky boy color or the boys don’t want the gross girl color? The issue of color may go deeper than just fighting for toys. Studies have been done showing that school classrooms, especially for younger grades, are typically decorated in “boy” colors and reflect an environment that is most comfortable for boys (Bruning 23). Parents and teachers may be able to help reverse this thinking by buying toys in gender neutral colors and by using the same colors for boys and girls.
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.
The gender stereotypes we are experiencing today are outdated and need change. Right now, gender marketing is higher than it has ever been. A comparison can be shown as Robb states “In the 1970s…few children’s’ toys were targeted specifically at boys or girls at all; nearly 70% of toys had no gender-specific labels at all” (Robb). Since the 70’s gender marketing has climbed its way up to its peak. There is a sort of disconnect between marketing and new gender advancements that have been occurring recently. The gender standards that are currently being used are outdated and do not hold true as more women are excelling in the sciences, while more men choose to become stay at home fathers. The “Let Toys be Toys” campaign website claims that “themes of glamour and beauty in toys and playthings directed at even the youngest girls tips over into a worrying emphasis on outward appearance. Stereotyped attitudes about boys are equally harmful as the constant assumption reinforced in toy advertising and packaging that boys are inevitably rough, dirty, rowdy…which feeds low expectations of boys that undermine their performance at school”(“Let Toys be Toys”). These outcomes are not acceptable, and gender-neutral toys may aid in combat against these old age ideals, and could possibly help make the
According to research by Marissa McClure Volrath, an elementary art teacher, her findings allowed us to realize and understand that gender identity can been seen through a child’s artwork and how it is presented. “Although many young girls’ drawings do seem to adults’ perception to convey the sweetness, innocence, and themes of girlhood, they are also the kinds of drawings often hung up and ignored or referred to as “sweet” or “cute.” They are unlikely to solicit the attention of a young boys’ drawing of a gun or a superhero fist fight. They seem pleasant and innocent. However, these drawings reveal and conceal girls’ desires to see themselves not how they are but how they wish they might be or think they should be—a complicated matter operating on multiple levels of pleasure, desire, and sociality oppressed (McClure-Vollrath, 2006, p. 68).” Socially the world expects girls to be interested in princesses and the color pink, that’s the social norma and looked to as socially acceptable. The study performed by McClure Volrath allows a way to see beyond the social norms and understand that through a child’s art we are able to see a difference in a child’s gender identity. The media often has an influence on a child’s gender identity. Drawings a boy may draw of a gun might be seen in a cartoon that they religiously watch, and this is looked to as being a social norm. Boys often watch violent or action packed cartoons or television shows, whereas girls might draw a pony seen in their favorite cartoon. Girls are often expected as a norm to watch cartoons and shows that might involve drama and romance. “Again, identity is a social concept. When we engage any media, no matter what form it may take, we are in essence receiving the ideas from those authors. Simply, it is a different format by which we now exchange ideas (Worsham, 2011).” As we grow we take in information we see, as stated before, our surroundings mold us.
“Blue is for boys and pink is for girls” is a common belief in the colours that differentiate boys from girls. Similarly, such beliefs extended to children’s toys whereby toys were labelled as “for boys” or “for girls”. It is obvious that there is a vast difference in the appearances and characteristics of “girl” toys and “boy” toys.