Socialization of Gender in Toys

From Lindsay

The photograph I took is meant to show how children, from an early age, are encouraged to play with certain toys or objects based on their gender. The child in the photograph is depicted as being very content in playing with a pink Furby. Everyone would agree that while Furbys were popular toys a couple years ago, they were mostly geared towards young girls, as you had to nurture your fuzzy Furby by feeding it, rocking, it and singing to it. I also have a teenager in the picture, representing the time frame in life in which a boy has grown and understood what it means to be masculine. He is trying to get the young boy to pay attention to the bike instead of the Furby. The obvious scowl on the teenagers face shows his displeasure in the young boy being so interested in a stereo typically "girl" toy. This reflects how in society, older men often too get quite upset if they see a younger boy playing with a girls toy. They will try and steer the boys interests to a more "appropriate" toy. I have taken the background into consideration also. There are more "boy" toys in the garage of the house including more bikes and scooters. Also there is workout equipment in the very background, showing that this is a very masculine household, so then the boy should be doing more masculine things. The photograph shows, however, that no matter what gender a child is they can be just as happy playing with any toy whether it is meant more for girls or boys. But unfortunately it also portrays that crossing over into the opposite gender's area, like playing with stuffed animals or dolls in this case, is unacceptable to society.