“My Boys Like Shootouts. What's Wrong With That?” by Jonathan Turley examines on how parents should react towards their child’s choice of toys (Turley, 2007). Turley has written numerous academic articles on legal and policy issues in national publications such as Washington Post. Hence, I believe that his targeted readers would be general public, mainly parents.
In this article, Turley makes the claim that parents are overreacting about their child’s play preference and feels that they should not ban their children from playing with stereo-typed toys, especially toy guns. Turley backs his claim that “parents often overreact when confronted with toy guns and other games: Play is play. Violence is violence.” (para 8) In this case, Turley asserts that parents should not be too concerned over their child’s choice of toys. He also cited an example when “one mother spotted the toy rifles… pulled her screaming children out of the event, announcing that she would not ‘expose them’ to guns” (para 2) to imply how parents react towards toy guns which they perceived as “aggressive” and “violent”(para 4). However, I would argue that most of her arguments are flawed interpretation of evidence and unsound assumption.
First of all, Turley highlights that “rather than taking the guns away from boys, parents should pass them out to girls” (para 10). However, he probably has made an unsound assumption that girls could discharge their anger through symbolic play with toy guns. Turley clearly overlooked the possibility that the girls might not have any interest in toy guns in the first place. Turley certainly proves my point when he quoted Tracy Miller’s experience that “girls, who are temperamentally more assertive, never showed the slightest interest” over the improvised weaponry. (para 7) Turley, therefore, fails to consider the girls’ reaction towards stereotyped toys when making the assumption that parent should not ban toy guns from boys but instead expose it to the girls.... [continues]
In this article, Turley makes the claim that parents are overreacting about their child’s play preference and feels that they should not ban their children from playing with stereo-typed toys, especially toy guns. Turley backs his claim that “parents often overreact when confronted with toy guns and other games: Play is play. Violence is violence.” (para 8) In this case, Turley asserts that parents should not be too concerned over their child’s choice of toys. He also cited an example when “one mother spotted the toy rifles… pulled her screaming children out of the event, announcing that she would not ‘expose them’ to guns” (para 2) to imply how parents react towards toy guns which they perceived as “aggressive” and “violent”(para 4). However, I would argue that most of her arguments are flawed interpretation of evidence and unsound assumption.
First of all, Turley highlights that “rather than taking the guns away from boys, parents should pass them out to girls” (para 10). However, he probably has made an unsound assumption that girls could discharge their anger through symbolic play with toy guns. Turley clearly overlooked the possibility that the girls might not have any interest in toy guns in the first place. Turley certainly proves my point when he quoted Tracy Miller’s experience that “girls, who are temperamentally more assertive, never showed the slightest interest” over the improvised weaponry. (para 7) Turley, therefore, fails to consider the girls’ reaction towards stereotyped toys when making the assumption that parent should not ban toy guns from boys but instead expose it to the girls.... [continues]
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"My Boys Likeshootout. What's Wrong with That?." StudyMode.com. 02, 2012. Accessed 02, 2012. http://www.studymode.com/essays/My-Boys-Likeshootout-What-s-Wrong-With-908774.html.
