Girls vs. Boys Toys

From: Sean
   “Describe the ways in which gender scripts are encouraged in children”. “Analyze the representations of femininity and masculinity in children’s media”. “Assess gender-based differences in toy advertising”. Each of these topics are present in simple photographs of the children’s toy aisle in a Target, a company who supposedly strives to represent everyone and force nothing on everyone. Yet even the toys they sell to children send a much different message.
    Each aisle is cookie cutter: There’s an aisle number, and 3 descriptors of what’s being sold in the aisle. While accurate, something stuck out to me the second I looked at the lables. Why do the descriptions for the “girls aisles” even have the world “girl” in the description? And on the other end of the spectrum, why do the labels on the “boys aisles” not have the word “boy” in front, just as the girls do? This already speaks to the way adults view how children should play, being girls and boys toys even have a definite gender category to be placed in.
    While looking at the photo it is also very clear what defines the categories that are pushed by these toys. Most of the toys pushed for girls were related to princesses, dolls, or even having a specific “girls building sets” label instead of just labeling it “building sets”. Most of the guys toys are colored in blacks and powerful reds instead of pink, and in the image the toys shown are all “action figures” of buff wrestlers or superheroes, which contrasts the “girls dolls” and princess outfits.
    This photograph is clearly showing the lines that adults draw around what children should think masculinity and femininity are. Instead of calling them “boys dolls” or “girls action figures”, the need to be labeled separately and located in different spots because they are clearly defined as different and they are supposed to be catering to what children “should be” playing with. Having such thick lines between what the differences in toys also clearly defines to children what roles and attributes they should come to expect and enforce. Girls are taught to fall into a more maternal or caretaking role, as they are fed constant different versions of baby dolls or princess dress-up costumes. Guys are taught to be powerful and macho, as they are fed constant different versions of superhero toys or buff figurines.
    The differences in gender are forced all the way down to a children’s level. Although not expressly told, children pick up on cues and clues about what they should be thinking about and what the define as normal based on the toys they play with every day. Children are taught the need to define things by appearance into gender-specific categories and shun away other types of toys they might like only because it doesn’t fit a perceived set of restrictions. Packaging, the toy itself, how it’s played with, and even the label it’s given all give off the message that we should treat toys and the people they’re played with by differently. After all, we make it so simple, even a baby can do it.