Boys and Girls are given different toys to play with based on their gender, which in the future, causes them to develop these gender schemas and ideas about how a man and women should have specific traits and act a certain way. When playing with these gender segregated toys Girls are taught to be “feminine (nicer, softer and more passive)” (Rudman and Glick,60) and Boys to be “masculine (rougher, tougher and more active)” (Rudman and Glick, 60) When Parents give their children Gender distinctive toys they are shaping their child’s gender expression and strengthening societies gender roles. Boy toys tend to be harder and “girl toys are soft and smooth” (Rudman and Glick,60), giving the impression girls are fragile and boys tougher. Which is the reason most people believe boys shouldn’t cry and girls shouldn’t be apathetic. If you break this gender role expectation, society will act in a negative way because as children we were taught what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior for each sex through toys. Two gender segregated toys are Barbie dolls and action figures. Barbie is a soft plastic doll many young girls own, and she is an iconic toy that has been around for years. This doll is usually put in a package with a background of a big fancy mansion, kitchen, shopping mall or going on a vacation. In my image, you see Barbie is in the kitchen, I grayed out the kitchen to show the key elements within the box. First, I’d like to point out Barbie is in a dress and looks pretty done up to cook dinner which is telling our girls they must always look nice even when inside your most relaxed setting. The box in the picture that Barbie is inside of symbolizes the restrictive traits young girls are taught through toys such as being soft, domestic and submissive. Action figures are a toy that “represents the toughest male fantasy figures or occupations” (Rudman and Glick,61) such as the one in the picture above Barbie. This action figure made specifically for boys is made of a much harder plastic and holds a more powerful role over Barbie. The This action figure is a police officer racing in a police car, hanging off the door free and powerful. This type of toy gives boys the traits of being dominant, assertive and courageous. I left the phrase “city action” in color to put empathizes on how boys are supposed to be more energetic and outgoing. Barbie is put at the bottom and off to the side because her role is more submissive, while the Police officer is front and center because it’s role is more powerful. The Empty space with holes symbolizes a specific toy missing for intersex children and how toys are missing an action figure or Barbie that displays an in-between. The holes also represent that this is not a perfect system and not every girl will act like every other girl and same for boys. If we allow kids to be kids and emerge all toys into one category there wouldn’t be as many differences or expectations for genders.
Work Cited
Rudman, Laurie A., and Peter Glick. _The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power
and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations_, The Guilford Press, 2015, pp. 59–63.
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