Toys and Gender Socialization: Sociological Perspectives and Impact on Children's Development

The toys of children help socialize children in gender specific role. The toy makers make gender specific toys for the girls and boys. In this report, sociological perspectives, different colors of packaging of toys, age factors in gender assumptions of toys and other factors are discussed and examined.

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toys and gender socialization
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Running head: TOYS AND GENDER SOCIALIZATION 1
The toys of children help socialize children in gender specific role. The toy makers
make gender specific toys for the girls and boys. The child come to know in respect of what it
means to be woman or man by the made up play. However, it is good for the girls to have
completely pink toys in the area. A girl might enjoy making the train truck or rolling the cars.
A boy might enjoy taking pause from making towers of blocks to make the pretend meal in
toys kitchen. In this report, sociological perspectives, different colors of packaging of toys,
age factors in gender assumptions of toys and other factors are discussed and examined.
I have visited most famous toy store Hamleys, there was separate floor for the girl’s
toys and boy’s toys. There were new signs in toy store to tell which types of toys are
available on each floor, in place of addressing that who are required to play with these toys. I
have horrified by the pink color on the floor of toys of girls. There were furry birds, kitchen
set, beauty salon set and the toys related to the fashion or beauty products. I found that the
toys section of boys completely had explorations, bikes, guns, cars, technical sets and the toys
related to puzzle. The toy store admits that these section on the basis of genders so that the
customer flow can be improved (Boekee & Brown, 2015).
In the toy store, it is found that pink toys were placed next to pink cookery sets. The
pink princess clothes were placed next to pink kitchen set. The Packages of real pink makeup
present equal with fashion dolls dressed improperly in the pink dresses. There is no mistake
what gender is being directed when walking over row of pink racks block full of pink toys in
packaging of pink. The research says that Pink toys tremendously are connected with passive
or care-taking conduct. The girl would come to know that girl should take care of infants and
cook, and worry about how the makeup and dresses appear. Further it is found that boys were
more expected to look at car and guns, and girls at dolls. The research says that this not only
relays to children’s gender but the discovery to androgen in womb. In such way, these toys
influence the role gender. The reason is that they teach kids that boys are more violent and

Running head: TOYS AND GENDER SOCIALIZATION 2
leading. Driving at fast speed, carrying heavy lots and deafening car becomes related with the
behavior of men (Dinella, Weisgram & Fulcher, 2017).
Moreover, the most perceptible areas which result stereotyping is the prevalence of
gender-labeling in the toys of children. The gender labelling of colors in the industry of toys
has the adverse effects on the long term economy by encouraging some gender roles and
actions in kinds. Various girls love pushing the buggy and imagining to be like mother.
Though, various boys will love to push the doll pushchair nearby the blocks. Girls are the
primary market for dolls, which promote traditional gender roles. Whereas there is nothing
incorrect with instructing girls how to be supportive and caring, boys benefits from this
teaching, too. Dolls tend to teach children an old school role of gender, supporting old
cultural standards that suggest only to the girls to take care of babies (Harris & Harper, 2015).
The age is major factor in the gender assumption of the toys. Around the age three to
five, gender plays an important role in the life of children (Goldberg & Garcia, 2016).
Therefore, when children see undoubtedly separated passages with gender signs such as pink
toys or blue toys, then girls and boys pay vigilant focus. Kids also consider many cues from
each other. While visiting toy store, I found that at the age of 12 months, the preference of
girls and for the dolls was same. Approximately 57% of girls observed at the doll in
comparison of 56% of boys. And at the age of 24 months boys had moved towards cars.
About 52% of girls and 47 % of the boys observed at the dolls on the primary basis (Mullins,
2015).
In the stores, television advertisements, sites, brochures and lists, many toys were
designed to prepare girl for the life of homemaking and boys for upcoming career in a trading
economy. Ads featuring boys are mainly for motors, action image toys, structure set and toy
guns. The boys are exposed as active and violent, and the language used emphasizes

Running head: TOYS AND GENDER SOCIALIZATION 3
regulation, powers and struggle. No ads for infants or style dolls involved the boys.
Advertisement featuring girls are mainly for dolls, allure and training and have the awesome
importance on appearance, presentation, development and relations. The girls are mainly
shown as comparatively inactive and infrequently active other than dance. The terms used in
advertisement highlights on the fantasy, attractiveness and relations (Kollmayer, et. al, 2018).
The toys highly affects the development of children. Targeting toy by gender has
significances beyond socialization. The toys will stay being broken up by the gender and will
instead be classified by kind, like puzzle toy, dolls or car of kids. There would still be dress-
up dolls and monster toy trucks in that world, but in its place of being pink or blue and
separated to unlike walkways, they will come in each color of rainbow and be promoted to all
kids (Colaner & Rittenour, 2015). The toy help children about social roles, for best and
worse. At what time boys learn that some toys are for girls or that some types of violent play
are off restrictions, they are exploring somewhat regarding societies where they live. In this
way, colour of toys, types and packaging of toys influence the adulthood and development of
children (Basch, et. al, 2015).
As per the above analysis, it can be concluded that toys have significant role in
reproducing the gender classification. Not only parents are forced to select the boys toys and
girls toys as their kids are girl or boy because of the promoting approaches of the colours and
selection of words on the packages comprising the toys, but kids are also aimed to
unintentionally favour the toys pre-chosen for the sexual category. This classification of girl
and boy in gender packages makes an unseen partition between girls and boys that are raised
as a result as opposites. This phenomenon of classification first seems in the primarily
socialization, but the primarily socialization is impacted by socialization, which parents
attained all the time.

Running head: TOYS AND GENDER SOCIALIZATION 4
References
Basch, C. H., Guerra, L. A., Reeves, R., & Basch, C. E. (2015). Advertising violent toys in
weekly circulars of popular retailers in the United States. Health promotion
perspectives, 5(3), 191.
Boekee, K., & Brown, T. (2015). Gender Stereotypes of Children’s Toys: Investigating the
Perspectives of Adults Who Have and Do Not Have Children. Journal of
Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 8(1), 97-107.
Colaner, C. W., & Rittenour, C. E. (2015). “Feminism Begins at Home”: The Influence of
Mother Gender Socialization on Daughter Career andMotherhood Aspirations as
Channeled Through Daughter Feminist Identification. Communication
Quarterly, 63(1), 81-98.
Dinella, L. M., Weisgram, E. S., & Fulcher, M. (2017). Children’s gender-typed toy interests:
Does propulsion matter?. Archives of sexual behavior, 46(5), 1295-1305.
Goldberg, A. E., & Garcia, R. L. (2016). Gender-typed behavior over time in children with
lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(7), 854.
Harris III, F., & Harper, S. R. (2015). Matriculating Masculinity: Understanding
Undergraduate Men's Precollege Gender Socialization. Journal of the First-Year
Experience & Students in Transition, 27(2), 49-65.
Kollmayer, M., Schultes, M. T., Schober, B., Hodosi, T., & Spiel, C. (2018). Parents’
Judgments about the Desirability of Toys for Their Children: Associations with
Gender Role Attitudes, Gender-typing of Toys, and Demographics. Sex Roles, 25(4),
1-13.

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Mullins, N. M. (2015). Insidious influence of gender socialization on females' physical
activity: rethink pink. Physical Educator, 72(1), 20.