Toy Industry Gender Roles

ENGL 1B-73
C+S II
3/21/13

Toy Industry and Gender Roles The toy industry has enforced the belief that children should play with toys that correspond to their genders, while never feeling guilty as they value business greater than the children. At early ages children begin to develop preferences and playing styles that are brought to life through the toy industry that offers countless varieties of action figures, dolls, blocks, bikes, books, and other toys that stimulate a child’s mind. The problem with the toy industry is that they value business greater than the children’s needs, following societies and parents demands for what is proper for children to play with based on their genders. The toy industry affects children because they
(Singer, 2010, 57) According to Peggy Orenstein of New York Times Magazine, before a child enters preschool their minds are still developing and can find imaginative ways to play with any toy. For example the Duplo Lego blocks, which are unisex, are made for very young children to develop motor skills and creativity while not distinguishing in colors or features as they appeal to both genders. (Orenstein, 2011, 29) Around the time a child enters preschool they begin to have preferences, partly due to what they are influenced watching on television and parents beliefs. For example boys will predominantly play with action figures and balls mainly of darker colors such as blue or red. Girls begin to play with dolls and their countless accessories consisting of lighter colors such as pink and purple. A child’s mind is so vulnerable that they idolize their favorite superheroes from television shows and attempt to reenact scenes when they are playing. Their minds are capable of creating environments and scenarios they viewed on their favorite shows. However, there has been a limit drawn during children’s programming, such as Saturday morning cartoons, with commercials offering products that include host of programs and cartoon characters becoming “forbidden by the Children’s Review unit of the Better Business Bureau.” (Singer, 2010, 19)
Boys have a tendency to be very violent with their toys which is how they are marketed and portrayed on cartoons. Girls like to stick together and accessorize dolls and dream of one day becoming those unrealistic Barbies with the dream house, sports car, and perfect boyfriend. The real problem is that many times these same playing styles become values of the children in their adult lives. According to Allyson Jule, the author of "Princesses and Superheroes: Metaphors that Work Against Wholeness", “boys are to be active, violent, and powerful. Boys move in packs to achieve this hegemonic masculinity; they are “one of the boys” and use guns and act aggressively towards girls or even the younger or weaker boys.” (Jule, 39-40) This shows what boys are taught to value such things as violence, power, leadership, and fitting in amongst peers; many times these identities are created by superheroes. Girls on the other hand are taught to value vanity and good looks and associate these traits with success in the future displayed by their dolls lavish accessories. Quite frankly it is wrong for simple toys to play such a critical role in how children develop into adulthood. Toys should be used for developmental purposes and to expand a child’s thinking process and imagination not limit a child in what they want to pursue or behave