Source 1 (scholar article): Auster and Mansbach cite a study done by Blakemore and Centers in 2005 that many adult, including college students have not change their attitude about toys. They still judge and see children’s toys in a gender stereotyped way. The logos, packaging, color and function of toys are used by adults as “gender markers.”…
The passage "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" by Katha Pollit is mainly about society and stereotypes. Which include how girls tend to ne feminine and usually play with dolls, clothes and pink shoes that are usually for girls. Others find this hard to believe that boys might not understand that their toys consist of just trucks and action figures. Others fail to see that there was a women’s movement and many people were against it. People are not just born with the connection to a certain color or even to a certain toy; it is something that we are taught by our parents and even by society.…
Since March 9th, 1959 the United States has had a very influential piece of plastic, called the Barbie. Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, of Mattel Inc. after discovering a doll in Germany named Bild Lilli. The Barbie doll was named after Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara. The Barbie was introduced to the United Sates at a time when the word “teenager” was becoming a popular trend on television and in movies. A teenager is the time between childhood and adult life. Mattel took the opportunity to release Barbie at this ideal time. It was released as a teenage fashion model. Although the Barbie was pricey, many girls loved the idea and the Barbie doll became a very popular toy. With becoming popular Barbie had a huge impact. Barbie has negatively influenced body image, stereotypical female rolls, and enforced commercialism. Although, it has modernized…
It is said that girls generally gravitate towards the toys labeled as girls’ toys and young boys always choose trucks over dolls. This way of organization makes it easy to find the right plaything for each child. When given the choice between a doll and a truck, female infants are most likely to choose the doll, and male infants choose the opposite (Cherney et al., 2003). Girls seem to be attracted to pastel colors and role play toys such as dolls. Boys automatically want to play with guns and toy soldiers, things that are aggressive in nature. The separation of toys has never had an effect on children or their future. They have been marketed in this way for years without trouble, so why change these…
Gender plays an important role in the way children are raised in today’s society. The common stereotype that feminine toys are for girls and masculine toys are for boys is prevalent, even with all of the political advancements our society has made to try to free the world from these stigmas. It starts as early as when a child is in the mother’s womb. Most women will celebrate the arrival of their bundle of joy with a baby shower. Pink colors will be used for baby girls and blues for baby boys. In toy stores you will find aisles filled with toys separated by gender: baby dolls for girls and action heroes for boys. During ages three to five children enter their peak playing ages where their minds are most vulnerable to absorb everything and anything at once. Due to a failing economy, many more families are depending on early childcare programs to care for their children while they are forced to have both parents enter the workforce. During this sensitive, and impressionable time in a…
Girls’ behaviors could be modelized at their early ages. Family plays the key role of this kind of modulation. Girls are often asked to act politely and submissive, which results in the later behaviors when they become grown-ups. Also parents generally dress their daughters pink and purchase dolls as their toys instead of robots, this might contribute to particular stereotypes in their minds. In addition, in many families, images that nurses should be female and doctors ought to be male may lead to the wrong gender conceptions. Other sources such as televisions, newspapers, might also share the point that girls should be dependent. All of the social expectations above could cause a great…
Professor Blakemore of NAEYC did a survey. She asked people to check whether the toys she presented to them were very feminine, somewhat feminine, gender neutral, somewhat masculine, or very masculine. She found that toys that are very gendered are usually not conveying educational or positive messages - very feminine toys are focused on physical beauty, while very masculine toys focus on aggression and fighting. On the other hand, somewhat gendered toys help teach children skills for adulthood - somewhat feminine toys teach about cleaning, cooking and taking care of children, while somewhat masculine toys teach about building. No matter a child’s gender, they need somewhat gendered toys for both genders to teach them important skills for the…
Young boys and girls are influenced by their respectable toys in a manner of ways. While girl’s toys promote an unrealistic version of…
Unfortunately, in the present days, in the contemporary era, toys have a great influence in gender roles. This influence creates a lot of pressure in the little ones who are forced to buy ‘’girl’s’’ toys and ‘’boy’s ‘’ toys. However, if a boy buys a toy that are labeled and directed for girls, such as Barbie dolls, pink bicycles and Polly’s, they are very likely to suffer bully from their colleagues at school. That can lead into severe mental problems such as: depression, high levels of insecurity and anxiety.…
Toys started out as children’s entertainment, but have toys always just been for entertainment? Or can they affect the way a child develops, or interprets the world around them? The toys you play with as a child send messages that can influence your idea of what is socially acceptable. Toys teach you how to become who you are because of the roles they play. Media plays a major role in that, if you have a certain toy that comes out in a TV series, you play with the toy the way the media portrays the toy to be used. There are many different examples of how toys reinforce social norms. For example, Barbie is a doll that many young girls praise for her beauty and the social life media puts on her. Barbie is only one of many popular toys that subliminally sends a message of female gender roles to young children. Even though Barbie just seemed like a doll to play with, she makes it desirable to grow up to the cult of domesticity, which reinforces the traditional lifestyle that has been imposed upon women.…
Imagine going into a toy store and looking at how the toys are organized. Most places label the aisles “girls” and “boys”. Another way the division is visible, is by color; pink is what tends to pop out first, and this is the aisle where the dolls are. These methods are just the beginning of how dolls are sorted by gender. Next comes the clothes and the different roles that the dolls play. Gender bias with dolls plays a significant role in the world of a child by affecting their learning, behavior, and image of themselves.…
My paper titled toys and gender, is based on the toys of today and how they relate to gender socialization. I decided to go to the local Wal-Mart in Cookeville, Tn. I chose this store because it is a worldwide known large retail store. I concluded that it would be a good store to analyze because it is thought of as a family store where many families go to shop. Therefore, I knew that there would be a wide variety of toys to analyze and collect data. I went to Wal-Mart December the 3rd. I analyzed the toy sections of Wal-Mart and how the toys are associated with gender, color sound, types of play they encourage, types of interactions they cause, and what they prepare children for. With the exception of preschool toys that were sometimes offered in gender-neutral packaging, kids’ toys were largely segregated into different aisles according to gender. And within those aisles, the markings of gender were clear. The “girls’” section resembled the aftermath of an explosion of Pepto-Bismol. In the “boys’” section, there seemed to be a profusion of aggressive, hyper-muscled, weapon-wielding action figures. And in both realms, the majority of toys seemed to be explicitly tied to movies and television…
Although changing one’s sex is a biological process and often unchangeable, changing one’s gender is a fluid social process. It is hard to distinguish so-called natural and social qualities of one’s gender or sex since culture strongly impacts what society believes to be natural (TAW Social construction of gender 26). The social construction of gender is important to note when thinking about domesticity, because girls are taught from young age to believe they are naturally better suited for family work rather than market work. For instance, toys for toddlers mimic gender norms as toys directed for girls involve care-centered play, such as pretend vacuums, kitchen sets, and baby dolls. On the other hand, toys for young boys involve science experiments and building blocks, toys that help to develop cognitive skills (39). The differences in toys relate to the different skills boys and girls learn at a young age; girls tend to learn nurturing skills while boys tend learn motor skills. As a result, the difference in toy design, as well as the fact that there are toys made for one gender over the other, are examples of how domesticity pervades US society. Girls grow up to believe that they are more suited towards…
In the past, women were always considered the subordinate gender that was expected to powder their nose and stay at home to be a homemaker. Even now, despite the movement to liberate women from stereotypical gender roles, women are still seen as the inferior gender that is discriminated against in society. As suggested by the popular Barbie doll created by Mattel, the idealized image of a woman in our patriarchal society is one who takes care of the home and is flawlessly beautiful with perfect skin, long legs, small waist, and slender figure. The Barbie doll is used as a tool for patriarchy in that it reinforces the notion that women should be domestic workers and maintain a feminine outer appearance. Also, patriarchal values affect girls starting at a young age as they unconsciously begin to believe that Barbie is what a woman should look and be like. With the appeal and popularity of this doll for the past several years, it is difficult to alter the notions of womanhood suggested by this doll. This implies that patriarchy is something we can not permanently overthrow because it is so deeply rooted in our society.…
The idea of a doll who is supposed to teach my child and she what a cute young girl looks like, would you think it would be dress to a parents idea of cute? The Bratz Dolls are unbelievably dressed and constructed. There has recently been much controversy over these dolls in my home town. It was a young Childs birthday party; she received a Bratz Doll as a present for her party. The following is the story that was written on what happened after the mother opened the gift and got a better look at the Doll.…