19. Gender and Toys

[Assignment- First Two Year Batch-MEd. 2015-17

- Govt. College of Teacher Education, Thiruvananthapuram]

How Today's Toys May Be Harming Your Daughter

The long history of separate toys for girls and boys shows that marketing by gender has a profound impact on children.

Sociologist Elizabeth Sweet, at the California State University, Sacramento, analyzed more than 7,300 toys in Sears catalogs from the 20th century. She discovered that gender-based toy ads from the 1920s to the 1950s pushed traditional roles: the “little homemaker”; the “young man of industry.”

Source  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-toys-departments-piece/

For adults, play is a break from life. For children, especially in the earliest stages of childhood development, play is life, and toys are the tools of early learning. That includes lessons about gender. Action figures, like the Incredible Hulk seen here, have dominated "boy toys" for decades. Muscled and aggressive, the toy reinforces stereotypes of masculinity. Children’s toys seem to be moving in the opposite direction, reinforcing traditional roles rather than expanding them. The implications are serious: The way girls play may affect how their brains develop.

“The urge to create is equally strong in all children. Boys and girls. It’s imagination that counts. Not skill. You build whatever comes into your head, the way you want it. A bed or a truck. A dolls house or a spaceship. A lot of boys like doll houses. They’re more human than spaceships. A lot of girls prefer spaceships. They’re more exciting than dolls houses. The most important thing is to put the right material in their hands and let them create whatever appeals to them.” – Lego

Suggestions and solutions

*The toys aren't ruining anything. People can get their kids whatever they want to get them.

*Parents impose gender roles.

*From steering girls away from math and science, to a hyper-focus on girls’ looks, bodies and demeanor, to a far less significant emphasis for girls on leadership, prospective livelihoods and professional paths, it’s clear that crippling gender stereotypes continue to shape the development of the vast majority of children on our planet. Parents should take care of this.

*There are eco-friendly, girl empowerment, special needs, and thought-provoking toys. Parents should help them to select these kind of toys.

*Every parents mission is to help parents empower their children to be in control of their playtime.

*Gendered marketing was most pronounced in the 20th century, roughly half of toys were still being advertised in a gender-neutral manner.

*School should be a safe environment to learn and explore – you can help children by affirming unconventional choices, reassuring them that it’s OK to be different and encouraging a culture of acceptance.

*Give children real-life examples that counter stereotypes, both in your own activities, and in topic work and external visitors.

*Make sure there aren’t ‘girls’ jobs and ‘boys’ jobs.

*Using gender to divide the children up can be quick and convenient, but it gives them the constant message that being a boy or a girl is the most important thing about them and reinforces stereotypes. Getting the children to line up a different way – by age, birthday, alphabetically – can be a subtle but effective way of encouraging them to think about their identity in different ways.

*Encouraging children to work in mixed pairs or groups can have benefits too.

*Small changes, like saying ‘children’ instead of ‘girls and boys’ or ‘parents and careers’ or ‘families’ rather than ‘Mums and Dads’ can help to affirm the things we have in common rather than our differences.

Submitted by Ms. Amritha Anand