Gender Targeting Children
Gender stereotypes are exaggerated generalizations that are based purely on gender. The area of study for this investigation is sociocultural influences. This is a contemporary issue as it is becoming an excessive thing in modern society due to companies increasingly gender marketing their products towards children. The toy sections at shopping centers are divided into two categories: girl’s and boy’s toys. Aisles are filled with either pink, frilly princesses or blue, aggressive action figures. Toy marketing has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. As a matter of fact, it was not until the 1990s that toys were exceedingly targeting specific genders
The age group that will be focused on are children from the ages of 6 to 8 years old. …show more content…
Shop layouts target gender specific children by colour coding their aisles. The sections normally begin with newborn/baby toys which are generally gender neutral. This changes as it progresses into toddler toys for young children. Girl sections are filled with bright pink toys such as dolls, dress ups and household appliance sets. These are associated with vanity and domestic and nurturing skills. Boy toys consist of masculine action figures, building machinery and engineering toys. Three popular stores were visited and their toy aisles were investigated and documented. All three stores used gender targeting techniques such as colour coding and likes and dislikes to separate the boy’s and girl’s toys (see figure 1 and figure …show more content…
Boys are especially affected by this as they are expected from a young age to be tough and masculine. They are taught to enjoy things that involve building, athletics and science, while being told household chores such as cleaning, cooking and caring after babies are for women. Boys who are seen with girl toys such as dolls or dresses tend to be shamed for liking the ‘wrong’ thing. This can leave a negative impact on their social and emotional wellbeing as they grow older such as falling into depression, developing anxiety or even committing suicide (Reed, 2014). This can progress into their teenage and adult lives by convincing boys that showing ‘woman traits’ such as expressing emotions will make them feel foolish and that their feelings are
The age group that will be focused on are children from the ages of 6 to 8 years old. …show more content…
Shop layouts target gender specific children by colour coding their aisles. The sections normally begin with newborn/baby toys which are generally gender neutral. This changes as it progresses into toddler toys for young children. Girl sections are filled with bright pink toys such as dolls, dress ups and household appliance sets. These are associated with vanity and domestic and nurturing skills. Boy toys consist of masculine action figures, building machinery and engineering toys. Three popular stores were visited and their toy aisles were investigated and documented. All three stores used gender targeting techniques such as colour coding and likes and dislikes to separate the boy’s and girl’s toys (see figure 1 and figure …show more content…
Boys are especially affected by this as they are expected from a young age to be tough and masculine. They are taught to enjoy things that involve building, athletics and science, while being told household chores such as cleaning, cooking and caring after babies are for women. Boys who are seen with girl toys such as dolls or dresses tend to be shamed for liking the ‘wrong’ thing. This can leave a negative impact on their social and emotional wellbeing as they grow older such as falling into depression, developing anxiety or even committing suicide (Reed, 2014). This can progress into their teenage and adult lives by convincing boys that showing ‘woman traits’ such as expressing emotions will make them feel foolish and that their feelings are