Gendered Toys

From: Abigail

            Children learn stereotypes from the media around them. Almost all children have toys that are stereotypically catered towards their gender. Whether it be that girls are supposed to play with Barbies and boys are supposed to play with trucks. Gender stereotypes and roles are enforced in the toys they grow up with. Instead of girls just being able to use regular Nerf products they have girl Nerf which is the pink and purple Nerf toys, whereas the boys are blue and orange. Girls are often advertised light colors like pink, Barbie dolls, and dress up. In contrast, boys are advertised dark colors like blue, trucks, and toy guns.

Laurie Rudman’s article “The Two Cultures of Childhood,” strongly inspired my photograph. Toys being advertised to specific genders impacts the way that kids think. Rudman states in her article this impacts the children’s ways of thinking.  “…cognitive associations of different attributes, behaviors, objects, or social practices with ‘male’ and ‘female’” (Rudman, 59).  The photograph helps demonstrate the differences between the stereotypical “male” and “female” toys. Rudman makes a point about the different color scheme between sections. “Consistent with the general theme that boys re rougher and girls are sweeter…” (Rudman, 60). The “female” toys in the isle are bright and pink, whereas the “male” toys in the isle are dark and blue.

The creative techniques that I tried to incorporate into my photograph include camera angle, and similarity/difference. I used camera angle when trying to capture both the “female” toys and “male” toys. I slanted my camera so that I would be able to get a picture of the toys and color of the isle catered towards each gender. I had to combine but the pictures so that the viewer could see the differences. I used similarity and difference when taking my photograph because I wanted to capture how toys are advertised to each specific gender. There is a big difference between the “female” and “male” toys that you can see through the photograph. The type of toys and colors play a big part in the differences.

When toys are advertised strictly to specific genders it impacts children’s way of thinking. Boys can play with dolls and girls can play with trucks. Toys should not be gendered. When put into a box of what it is to be “female” or “male”, children are not able to express themselves.

 

 

Works Cited:

Rudman, Laurie A., et al. “The Two Cultures of Childhood.” The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. The Guilford Press, 2015, 59-63.