In Unit 2 we will be discussing the socialization of gender. One of the things we will be focusing on is toys.
This article talks about the role parents, schools, and the media play in teaching children which toys are appropriate for them to play with. Did you play with girl toys or boy toys when you were a child? Do you think the toys you played with had any effect on you personality, what hobbies you have, or what career you want to pursue?
3 comments:
When I was a kid I had a lot of barbies, my littlest pet shop, ponies, kitchen stuff, and dress up clothes. I also played with my little brother, so I played with his toys too. My dad always dragged us on bike rides and hikes. He was always trying to get both of us into sports and had us doing all kinds of races with the other kids. I think not only do kids need options, but parents need to know how to deal with different kids and personalities and some parents just can't do that. I was very shy and my dad was very impatient and expected the best and we all know kids can be cruel, so I hated sports and still do to this day. I was always pushed to be the best and strive for the best and I'm doing that by working towards a PHD in psychology.
As a child, I played with dinosaur toys, My Littlest Pet Shop, and my vet set. However, I spent most of my time reading, hiking, and roleplaying with friends or my sister. I don't think what toys I played with had any effect on me. I loved animals and at the time wanted to be a vet, so I had a lot of animal toys and vet kits. I enjoyed reading a lot; I would read over 300 books every summer. I do believe toys can shape your hobbies, in the aspect if you aren't exposed to other areas (I love the social sciences but wasn't exposed to any of them until my junior year of high school and am now pursuing anthropology, which I never would have imagined myself doing.)
However, I feel toys can affect how you're socialized, but I feel it's more of the impact of your family and the media.
When I was younger I played with a lot of different toys ranging from Barbie’s to trucks and video games. I was taught growing up that there was no boys toys and girls toys, they were just called toys. It might be weird hearing that but I was an only child and still played with whatever I wanted. My parents let me play with these John Deere tractor toys and I believe that they were my favorite. Even though I was allowed to play with all these toys I was still shy as ever and my father would get very frustrated with me because I would never ask for things myself he would always have to get something if I wanted it. I am working on getting my Forensics degree with a concentration on the Ballistics portion. I think that the fact that I played with both kinds of toys I was able to work towards a male job as they would say.
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