Toys and gender role - Essay Example

Toys and Gender Role Toy stores and aisles of toys in retail stores can tell a lot about the concept of gender role in our society. Despite our continuously changing world and society, one thing that has remained the same throughout many decades are the toys that are designed for children based on their gender. These toys tend to be some of the greatest influences over children as they grow during some of their most impressionable years (Gonzalez, 2008) and they play a big role in revealing to children what society expects of them or requires of them to do or be according to what their gender is. Toys stores, or even just the aisles of toys in retail stores, are split up based on what is considered gender-appropriate. All of the items designated for girls are grouped together, all of the items for boys can be found in the same location, and items that are considered unisex, such as bicycles, sporting equipment and boardgames, can be located usually in the back of the store or in an aisle that runs perpendicular to the others. These gender-designated aisles often stick out from one another due to the colors of the packages that the toys are in. Girls’ toys are dominantly packaged in pink, though purple is also seen quite often. These aisles appear soft in color and more sweet and appealing to little girls. Boys’ toys are usually packed in blue, with red being the second most-seen color. The boys’ aisles are more loud and solid, easily catching the attention of the young male population. The colors of the packages seem to speak for themselves in regard to what little girls and boys are assumed to be. The pink would suggest that girls are more delicate and innocent, while the blue reveals that boys are more tough. There is definitely a contrast of femininity and masculinity between how the toys are packaged based on gender. Furthermore, the color pink has long since been determined to be the color for females, while blue has been determined the color for males. Pink tends to be the dominating color for most things for girls, including clothes, school supplies, and their toys, just as blue is the dominating color for most of the things that boys would use. This concept of color seems almost as definite as the sky being blue or grass being green - girls will be pink and boys will be blue. The toys in each gender-designated section appear to be displayed from toys that reflect what children should be to toys that they might be interested in. In the girls’ aisles, the first toys that are seen are baby dolls, pretend kitchen sets or dessert-making machines, and pretend household appliances, like vacuums. Since the beginning of the 1900s, women have been expected to be the housewives and stay-at-home moms, preparing food, taking care of the kids, and making sure their family is fed and tended to. These first toys that are displayed show that. This is what society expects from them. The toys that follow are those that might interest the girls, such as Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, dress-up clothes, and toys based on television shows and movies that appeal more to the female gender. The boys aisles are set up similarly, growing from gender roles to gender interests. Some of the first toys that are seen are pretend power tools and police and fireman uniforms. In society, males are expected to be the ones that work or do jobs that require construction or the use of tools. After these, the aisles spread out to include toy cars, action figures, and toys based on television shows and movies that males are expected to like more than females. In some aisle setups, the boys’ aisles also include sporting equipment, like basketballs and baseballs, as well as the electric toys cars from them to ride in, though there are a few for girls as well. The aisles seem to be set up based on what children should be, and then by what they should do. The amount of unisex toys seem to be few and far between and the selections of toys that are available for boys and girls would be inappropriate if used by the other gender. For example, boys are not seen playing with baby dolls and girls are not seen playing with fake power tools. They could if they wanted to, but society - parents, family members, and teachers - would correct their interests and give them something more gender appropriate to play with (Aronson & Kimmel, 2010). The unisex toys that do exist are usually color coordinated based on gender, with pink and purple items for girls and blue and green items for boys. They even have pink basketballs in lieu of the regular reddish brown ones. Since toys are a vital part to any childhood, and the expectations of children to play with gender appropriate toys exist quite clearly, the socialization of boys and girls in society will be similar. If girls are denied the chance to play with toy cars and are given baby dolls instead, there will more likely be stay-at-home moms than female race car drivers or auto mechanics. If boys are denied the chance to play with the toy dessert ovens and are given fake power tools instead, there will be more male construction workers than male chefs. Society is trying to help show what males and females should do or be, even though we have long since come to a time when there are no gender-oriented careers (Fine, 2010). Despite this, the toys that children are subjected to would suggest otherwise. This tends to be harmful to society because of the limits that are put on children. We try to encourage them to be whatever they want to be, just as long as they are their best, yet we put restrictions on the toys and interests they can have as they grow up. The messages that children receive from toy stores can make a big impression the younger a child is, though some of these messages tend to go forgotten as children get older and discover other interests. The messages from toy stores deal with the importance of gender roles in society, giving children an early preview of what they should expect as they grow up. However, this preview is inaccurate, especially in this more accepting day and age when girls can become doctors and men can become chefs or even stay-at-home dads. The messages are false and misleading, making children believe that there are certain guidelines or rules that must be adhered to based on gender. Girls must remain innocent and dainty, while boys are expected to be rough and masculine. Toy stores make it seem as though there are only certain types of boys and girls, and that the two cannot intersect in regard to interest or future career choice. It is as though the future of these children are being made up for them based on what they see displayed on toy store shelves. My general impression was that toy stores, and toy makers in general, focus too much time on which gender should be playing with what instead of just focusing on the quality of their products. They go to the extreme when designing the toys, packaging them the way they do based on colors, and then displaying and selling them. Toy stores and toy makers seem to have taken it upon themselves to help children determine their goals and interests in life, all based on gender. One of the realizations that I had while doing this assignment was how many children end up growing up to do something outside of what is expected of them. As aforementioned, many children grew up to get a career in something that was not considered gender-appropriate as they were growing up. Another thought was how little stock parents put into gender-orientated activities after their children have grown out of playing with toys. Even though many expect their little girls to play with dolls as they grow up, very few have objections to them playing sports or building cars as they get older. Both of these realizations raise the question of: what changes when children grow up and why? Works Cited Aronson, Amy, and Michael Kimmel. The Gendered Society Reader. 4 ed. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2010. Print. Fine, Cordelia. Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print. Gonzalez, Ana Marta. Gender Identities in a Globalized World. Atlantic Highlands: Humanity Books, 2008. Print. Read More