Gender Toys
Toys R Us in the Right or Wrong?
Toys R Us is clearly on track to be the number one children’s toy store for the past and the present. With an average layout of 60,000 square feet, you’re bound to find what your child is looking for. The toys for the boys are in one area of the store, while the toys for girls are in another. The store merchandise has a lot to do with the passing along of gender stereotypes. Boy’s toys are portrayed as more active and girls as more passive Toys that may be considered gender neutral, such as games and puzzles, are located in a different section of the store. To top it all off, the packaging for gender specific toys are color-coded- the boys’ toys are mostly in blue and the girls’, mostly in pink. Do …show more content…
In my small amount of research this matter is considerably downplayed by most children, who really just want their damn toys! I personally believe that Toys R Us clearly stereotypes girls by handling the majority of everyday life on the inside and men handling it on the outside.
Heading over to the boys section, in blue a somewhat manly color, most will mainly see that the toys take on a roll of adventure and physical activity, most of which take place outside of the home. When I was a child about 90% of my play time took place outside, as I see the boys around my neighborhood playing outside throughout the day. Growing up as a boy, the best place for playing was obviously outside, demanding increased durability for boys’ toys. Take Tonka Trucks for example, which are made and marketed toward the male gender. They demonstrate …show more content…
I cannot say that the toys that I played with when I was five, in any way made a difference in what I am doing with my life now. Just because the soccer balls are located in with the boy’s toys, does not mean that young girls cannot play soccer. The same goes for basketball and softball. Similarly, with boys toys, just because cooking sets and tea parties are not things that they play with at young ages, does not mean that they cannot be a chef when they get older and get jobsIn conclusion, a solid argument can be made that gender-specific toys affect the marketing tactics of major toy companies. In today’s society, there are two parent families and single parent families, in which both cases, many parents work at least part-time. Do parents even have time to think about these kinds of things? In talking with several parents for this project, many of them said that they do not think about the stereotypical messages that toys send to children. Many said that their children tell them what toys they would like to have, when they see them on television, in weekly newspaper ads or specialty holiday catalogs. When shopping, they select other toys based on the children’s preference, responsiveness to commercials and advertisements, as well as additional interests, such as sports, music, and media. In my opinion, parents, friend and
Toys R Us is clearly on track to be the number one children’s toy store for the past and the present. With an average layout of 60,000 square feet, you’re bound to find what your child is looking for. The toys for the boys are in one area of the store, while the toys for girls are in another. The store merchandise has a lot to do with the passing along of gender stereotypes. Boy’s toys are portrayed as more active and girls as more passive Toys that may be considered gender neutral, such as games and puzzles, are located in a different section of the store. To top it all off, the packaging for gender specific toys are color-coded- the boys’ toys are mostly in blue and the girls’, mostly in pink. Do …show more content…
In my small amount of research this matter is considerably downplayed by most children, who really just want their damn toys! I personally believe that Toys R Us clearly stereotypes girls by handling the majority of everyday life on the inside and men handling it on the outside.
Heading over to the boys section, in blue a somewhat manly color, most will mainly see that the toys take on a roll of adventure and physical activity, most of which take place outside of the home. When I was a child about 90% of my play time took place outside, as I see the boys around my neighborhood playing outside throughout the day. Growing up as a boy, the best place for playing was obviously outside, demanding increased durability for boys’ toys. Take Tonka Trucks for example, which are made and marketed toward the male gender. They demonstrate …show more content…
I cannot say that the toys that I played with when I was five, in any way made a difference in what I am doing with my life now. Just because the soccer balls are located in with the boy’s toys, does not mean that young girls cannot play soccer. The same goes for basketball and softball. Similarly, with boys toys, just because cooking sets and tea parties are not things that they play with at young ages, does not mean that they cannot be a chef when they get older and get jobsIn conclusion, a solid argument can be made that gender-specific toys affect the marketing tactics of major toy companies. In today’s society, there are two parent families and single parent families, in which both cases, many parents work at least part-time. Do parents even have time to think about these kinds of things? In talking with several parents for this project, many of them said that they do not think about the stereotypical messages that toys send to children. Many said that their children tell them what toys they would like to have, when they see them on television, in weekly newspaper ads or specialty holiday catalogs. When shopping, they select other toys based on the children’s preference, responsiveness to commercials and advertisements, as well as additional interests, such as sports, music, and media. In my opinion, parents, friend and