The toys for boys had the nerf guns and all the vehicles; fire trucks, monster trucks, hot wheels. They had all the super hero action figures (dolls). There were Call of Duty and Starwars toys. In darker colors with red and blue and neon colors.
The toys for girls were all mostly pink and pastel colors like lavender and yellow, brown and white. There were Barbie dolls, baby dolls, toy kitchens, tea sets and crafting things for jewelry. Makeup sets and hospital things for like playing nurse.
The
major description that is used to market to children is primarily the color.
Most
of the toys seemed to have an image of the sex it was directed to but the color
also influenced on that.
The
toy I decided to select was Mega Bloks, they were easy to find because they
were in the toddler section where there are usually gender-neutral toys. I guess
someone could argue that it is for boys but really there are no picture and in
my opinion the colors are neutral.
The
toys are a means to teach children to act in a certain manner. Most of the toys
for boys teach them to be tough and manly (aggressive) or heroic. Some of them
are teaching you to become a fireman or police man. In a subconscious level they
are teaching you that violence is okay. The racecar games teach boys that one
should be fast. That for males everything is a competition. The action figures
or dolls in my opinion have a physique and ruggedness to what a male should
look like muscular and strong, not to pretty. For girls the toys teach them to
be into physical beauty and appearance. All the toys for girls are emphasizing
on care taking skills. Like taking care of children, cooking and cleaning. Toys
are a means to gender socialization sticking to norms of stereo typical gender
roles. Like we discussed in class how men are doctors and women are nurses (submissive
behavior). Women are under the supervision and taking orders from a male.
No comments:
Post a Comment