The Buzfeed's, 16 Ways The Toy Industry Is Stuck In The Stone Age, complied a list of gender coded advertisements that were considered to be sexist and fueled gender stereotypes. The photos that were complied are extremely interesting, and I encourage you all to check them out by clicking the link above! I discussed a while back in a post, You Can Only Play With Easy Bake Ovens?, on how toy industries market their products towards girls and boys and what their messages have to say. Personally, I don't have a problem if toys are marketed in a feminine or masculine manner. I do have a issue when their message conveys sexist gender roles and stereotypes that are marketed to both sexes. These two photos struck me the most. Its unfortunate the stereotypes and sexist messages that are conveyed in these photos. Huh? The boys laptop has 50 functions, and the girls laptop has 25?
Photo Credit: The BuzzFeed
Of course its no surprise that gender roles are carried on into adulthood, and there is nothing wrong with that; however the products in each individuals basket is filled with gender stereotypes.
Let me tell you, this little girl is putting the toy industry in its place! She is aware of how products are more geared towards girls than boys. I applaude this little girl and her parents for being aware of this issue and explaining to her that toys don't have to be gender specific. Another clip comes to mind, which is a Friends episode where the character Ross is really bothered that his son's favorite toy is a Barbie. His girlfriend and ex-wife argue with him that it doesn't really matter, while Ross is worried that his son will be seen as feminine. Ross tries to coax his son into playing with a G.I. Joe which ultimately ends in failure. It's apparent that toys are marketed to specific genders, I remember getting my first Easy Bake Oven and after many hours of my brownies cooking they were still mush. Looking back on it now, even though my mother was giving me one because she had one as a child, I am still bothered that these types of toys are training to bring out the homemaker in little girls. There was always this internal conflict I experienced in my household, because I always wanted to play with the toys my brother was playing. I remember that I wanted to be accepted by my brother and wanted to play videos games with him badly, but he would always be reluctant to let me play with him. He was a little selfish of his belongings but he saw that girls weren't supposed to play videos games and that it was a 'boy thing'.
Gender coded toys further reinforce group differention and gender roles. I would argue that at a young age we are given toys for entertainment and excitement and these toys may serve as symbols of what its like to be feminine and masculine. Toys geared towards boys are depicted as more masculine, rough, and are typically action figures. While female toys are feminine and reinforce gender roles such as being a homemaker and having the perfect appearance like a princess. Such as Barbies which depict the stereotyped female body type, play kitchens, and princess costumes. Sociological Images shows through images the group differentiation and color-coded aisles at a Toys-R-Us. Astuer & Mansbauch (2012), discuss how Williams (2006) suggested that "Adults choose gender-typed toys in hopes that this will allow the child to experience the pleasures of gender and pick up some lessons on proper stereotypical behavior” The little girl in that news clip brings an important comment to this discussion, in that toys that are geared towards girls isn't a bad thing, but there is nothing wrong if a little girl wants to play with a toy that is supposed to be for boys!
